


Building Bridges

by Thursdays_Angel



Series: Picking Up the Pieces [13]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki is a cat dad, Mentions of Suicide, Morgan Stark is a cutie, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 85,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25748539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursdays_Angel/pseuds/Thursdays_Angel
Summary: At Thor’s suggestion, Asgard begins to mend the tensions between Asgard and Jötunheim. When neither side seems willing to meet in each other’s Realm, a neutral location is decided. Since Asgard offered to introduce Jötunheim to Midgard to negotiate trade between the two Realms, Midgard becomes the location of the summit. Things appear to be going well but when King Býleistr asks to speak to Thor and Loki alone at the behest of one of the priestesses, the topic of conversation becomes about more than just a trade agreement.
Relationships: Frigga | Freyja/Odin (Marvel), Loki & Loki (Marvel), Loki & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki & Thor, Loki & Thor (Marvel), Loki & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Picking Up the Pieces [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1358788
Comments: 406
Kudos: 267





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Am I shooting myself in the foot? Why yes, yes I am. I'm _hoping_ to have this only be about 3 or 4 chapters (parts?) long. We'll see how it goes. I was originally going to have this all be a one-shot but given that it's already 15k words long and I've just barely gotten to one of the points I want I decided to break it up.
> 
> Loki does spiral backwards a little bit so, yes, thar be angst here.
> 
> Also real quick, if anyone hasn't already seen it TumblingBackpacks did an absolutely adorable piece of fanart for the Halloween chapter in The First Five Years. Go check it out and leave them a comment and some kudos.  
> [Fanart: Picking Up The Pieces](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24204967)
> 
> Other Notes: Helblindi is about 12 and Býleistr around 19-20 (equivalently)  
> Tørke Støv is Norwegian for dusting (according to Google Translate)  
> Seiðkona – seiðr-women

**_ Building Bridges _ **

**_One_ **

Loki rubbed at his eyes; hoping doing so would help bring the words on the parchment back into focus. No such luck and the action had actually seemed to make the blurriness worse. He sat back against his chair, tipping his head up. What he really needed was for someone else to read over these damn trade agreements. Loki knew he wouldn’t do that though. He was too afraid of missing something important.

A light rapping on his door drew his attention and he sat up as Thor entered his office. Loki felt a pulse of dread run through him. Thor looked nervous and that was usually never a good sign.

“Still reading over those agreements?” Thor asked.

“Death by parchment,” Loki replied, rubbing his eyes and feeling them tear up slightly. Damn, he was more tired than he’d thought. “Come to drag me away?”

Thor closed the door behind him and took a seat in the chair opposite the desk. Thor squirmed a little, which only made Loki dread whatever Thor wanted even more. It was much too late for this.

“Not exactly,” Thor said, shifting once more in the chair. “I had an idea that I wanted to run by you first before I bring it up to the rest of the Council.”

Loki felt an eyebrow go up. “What, pray tell, could you want to ask me that is making you so nervous?”

Thor sighed, turning his mismatched gaze on Loki. “It’s about Jötunheim. I wanted your opinion on trying to mend relations between our Realms. Especially now that we know just how related the royal families are.”

All expression dropped from Loki’s face. His first instinct was to animatedly refuse such a suggestion. “I’m not living there.”

Thor’s eyes bulged. “What? No, that wasn’t… Loki that wasn’t what I was suggesting at all. I was thinking peace for starters and maybe a trade agreement. We both know Jötunheim has been falling into ruin even before…” he tapped a hand against his leg, “… all that.”

Loki couldn’t argue that point. The Realm had been falling apart for centuries, especially after Laufey had let his ambition override common sense and instead of trying to rebuild after the war had simply let things fall apart even further. Loki had briefly wondered how he’d managed to remain king after it all.

Loki scrubbed a hand down his face, feeling the slight throbbing behind his eyes slowly become worse. “How do you intend to do this?”

“I’d like to invite delegates here,” Thor said. “Or if they are willing to talk but not here, find someplace neutral to meet.”

Loki dropped his hand. He could see the merit in what Thor was proposing. Good inter-Realm relations could only benefit everyone involved in the long run, especially with Midgard slowly increasing interactions. Midgard would need all the help it could get, specifically since it had been thrust into the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Loki wasn’t quite sure how he felt about beginning talks with Jötunheim. On one hand, good relations would be a benefit both realms. On the other, Loki simply wanted nothing to do with the Jötnar. They’d left him for dead as an infant. Truly, he owed the realm nothing.

_You did try to destroy it,_ whispered a voice in his head. For some reason it sounded suspiciously like Pepper.

_I wasn’t exactly in my right mind at the time either._

Norns, he was _not_ about to have that internal argument. He mentally shook his head to clear it. “How soon would you try contacting them?”

Thor shrugged. “It depends on how long it takes to convince the counselors. Then there is figuring out the best way to contact Jötunheim. I doubt they would be too keen on us arriving via Bifröst.”

Loki grimaced, his brother had a point. “Then there’s the fact that I killed their king.”

Thor flinched slightly at that as well. “Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That Laufey was your biological father?”

“You mean when I killed him?” Thor nodded. “Yes,” Loki admitted. His fingers danced along the arm of his chair. He and Thor had never really discussed his birth parents. It was a subject Loki had avoided like a plague. Much like the events in the Vault, which had begun Loki’s desperate descent into madness.

“Father told me right before he fell into the Odinsleep,” Loki said, avoiding Thor’s gaze. “He told me about how he had found me and whom I had been born to. At the time, I thought it explained everything, why everybody hated me. It seemed to make so much sense, that everyone had just somehow _known_ I didn’t belong. That they all believed I wasn’t loyal to Asgard.” Thor opened his mouth to protest but Loki held up a hand before he could.

“I know _now_ it was just the shock of my origins playing on my own fears,” continued Loki, “but at the time I thought that if I killed Laufey and rescued Odin that I could prove I was and would remain loyal to Asgard. I can’t say I was exactly thinking clearly at the time.”

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t have been.” Thor ran a hand down his face. “I didn’t help either by getting myself banished and forcing Asgard’s rule to you.”

“The timing of everything back then was not ideal, to say the least.”

The two fell silent, both tired from their long day along with thinking of the past events, which had triggered so much heartache for them.

“If the Jötnar are willing to talk, I’m not going to force you to interact with them any more than you are comfortable.”

Loki appreciated the sentiment. “As your chancellor, I would have to speak to them. I just… do you think we can avoid mentioning my origins? I don’t want the ruling parties to think I am vying for the throne. I don’t want Asgard’s throne, I want Jötunheim’s even less.”

Thor shifted to lean forward in his chair. “I don’t have to do this. It was only a suggestion anyway.”

Loki sighed, “No, I think it would be wise to try to engage Jötunheim in talks. They have been cut off from the Realms for over a millennia. One definite stipulation would be that they aren’t allowed to invade any of the Realms. I wouldn’t want to start a war but if they attempt to take Midgard again I won’t hesitate to destroy them.” To emphasize his point, his eyes momentarily swirled the different colors of the Infinity Stones.

“No argument from me on that one,” Thor said. “I have been wondering what kind of compensation we may need to give. Neither of us were exactly friendly towards them.”

“Now _there’s_ an understatement,” Loki remarked drily. He paused to consider Thor’s words. “A wergild perhaps but even then I’m unsure if we could feasibly pay something like that, especially with trying to expand New Asgard.” Loki bit his lip in thought. “We could offer to introduce them to Midgard’s leaders for trade, reopen trade lines between them and Vanaheim and even Alfheim as well.”

“It would be a start.”

“I suppose we could also work up to offering to return the Casket of Ancient Winters to them.” Loki added.

Thor’s eyes widened, “That would _definitely_ bring them to the table.”

Loki glanced at the piles of parchments on his desk and groaned. He pulled out a clean sheet, “I’ll start drafting a proposal.”

“Thank you brother,” Thor replied, standing. “I’ll speak to the Council in the morning… later in the morning.” He pressed a finger against Loki’s forehead. “Go to bed. The proposal can wait.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Don’t make me get mother.”

Loki dropped his quill and stood. “Bed it is.” Thor’s triumphant smirk quickly fell when Loki scurried around his desk, jumped on Thor’s back and announced, “Home James.”

* * *

Loki was surprised, not only by how quickly the Council had agreed to the proposal but that once the it had been sent to Jötunheim, they had agreed to begin trade talks as well. Loki once more sat at his desk reading over the first draft of a peace treaty between their two Realms.

Loki knew Jötunheim was dying and had been for centuries. His attack on the Realm over a decade ago hadn’t helped matters any. He feared they might hold a bit of a grudge over that, not to mention he had technically lured Laufey to his death.

The first meeting between the two governments was to take place only a few weeks from now. They still hadn’t decided on a venue and Loki worried that might be a source of contention. Maybe they needed to find somewhere neutral. Loki wasn’t entirely sure where though. Wherever it was, they would need to have accommodations made to support the Jötnar. He doubted Asgard’s council would wish to go to Jötunheim and he further doubted any of the Jötnar would wish to come here.

Loki dropped his quill and pressed his hands against his temples. His head hurt so badly. He pushed the parchments to the side then lay his head down upon his crossed arms. He gave up. Loki made a small gesture with his fingers and the lights within his office dimmed. That… actually helped a lot. It wouldn’t help him read any of the _many_ documents he needed to but it did help to lessen the pounding in his head. Perhaps he needed to quit long enough for his headache to go away. He would be able to concentrate better if it didn’t feel as though someone was trying to use Stormbreaker to crack his skull open.

Loki must have fallen asleep at his desk at some point because he slowly became aware of someone massaging the back of his neck and shoulders. Judging by the size of the hands, Loki figured it was his mother. “Thor sent you after me?”

He felt her lips press against his hair. “He did,” she replied. 

Loki wasn’t entirely surprised. Thor had been quite annoying of late, fussing over Loki to the point where Loki had threatened to stab him on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, that hadn’t deterred Thor in the least.

A tiny tongue began licking along his eyebrow and Loki turned his face towards his desk. Jack, undeterred, pressed a paw against Loki’s head then started to groom Loki’s hair.

Frigga softly chuckled at the display. Loki managed to free a hand from underneath his head and reached up to blindly pet the kitten. Jack meowed and Loki felt a paw bat his hand aside before Jack returned to licking his hair once more.

Loki, not really feeling a cat bath, sat up and blinked bleary eyes at Jack. “You too huh?”

In reply, Jack stood on his hind paws so he could lick at Loki’s forehead.

Frigga’s laughter became a bit louder. “You see, even he knows you have been working yourself too hard.”

Loki stretched and felt his back pop in several places. Perhaps he had been spending too much time in his office. When was the last time he’d seen daylight anyway? Looking back at his desk, he saw that Jack was sitting on the documents he was supposed to be going over.

“Trying to come up with a neutral place to hold the meeting is proving to be more difficult than I’d anticipated. Plus there are the various conditions that need to be outlined in the treaty. There are some councilors who want to allow Jötunheim to trade but not allow them to leave their realm to do so.”

“That is ridiculous,” his mother said. “What would be the point?”

“Exactly,” Loki replied. “While I agree the Jötnar would have to start out small we can’t bring an offer to the table on trade then completely limit their trade ability to be almost useless.”

“How do you mean?”

“The tariffs the Trade Minister wants to impose are staggering. There is no way Jötunheim would be able to rebuild its economy under such terms. The entire economic structure of Jötunheim would collapse should we force the tariffs he wants.”

“Sounds like you have a challenge on your hands.”

Loki groaned and scrubbed his hands down his face. “Do you want to do this?”

His mother chuckled. “Have you spoken with your father?”

“I’d planned on having him look the agreement over once the draft was finished. But,” Loki shrugged, “the matter of where we’re going to hold the summit remains? I doubt either side would wish to go to the other’s Realm.”

Frigga hummed, “Part of this treaty would be for Asgard to introduce Jötunheim to Midgard so the two Realms can talk of trade of their own, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Well, what do the Midgardian’s have to say about this? They could be a neutral third party for the talks between Asgard and Jötunheim.”

“We’ve sent a message to the UN on the behalf of Asgard but so far haven’t received a reply back. I think, given everything with Thanos, they’re still reluctant to open their world any more than they already have.”

“That’s understandable. I would still see if Midgard could be the summit location. I’m sure your Avengers would be willing to host everyone.”

“They aren’t my Avengers.” Loki said, however that didn’t sound like a bad idea. Loki picked Jack up; he didn’t need tiny paw prints all over his documents, and held him against his chest. Jack purred when Loki began scratching along his neck. Loki stood, keeping hold of the kitten as he did. Jack had put on much needed weight since Loki and Morgan had found him but his tiny butt _still_ fit in the palm of Loki’s hand. His paws were _huge_ though and Loki hoped the kitten would eventually grow into them. Given how much Jack ate, Loki didn’t doubt he would.

As they left his office, Frigga asked, “What will you do with him while you are in talks with Jötunheim’s representatives?”

“I’ll either leave him with Morgan or he’ll end up sleeping in my lap.”

“If an option is to have him in your lap during talks, then that is where he will be for nothing more than to give the remaining councilors aneurisms.”

“Jack is a very well behaved kitten,” Loki defended.

“I know he is and that he follows you _everywhere_ is beyond adorable but, son; you cannot conduct peace talks and trade agreements with a kitten in your lap.”

“Of course I can and if anyone begins to behave out of turn I’ll simply pet Jack and affect a villainous persona.”

His mother sighed, “Anthony is correct, you _do_ watch too many movies.”

Loki bent to kiss her on the cheek, “Tony doesn’t have any room to talk.” He scratched under Jack’s chin, “Right?”

Jack meowed in agreement.

* * *

After _finally_ receiving a reply from the United Nations and speaking with Tony and the Avengers, and confirmation with Jötunheim; it was agreed that the peace talks/trade agreement between Asgard and Jötunheim would take place on Midgard with the Avengers facility as the official location. The building was currently being outfitted to accommodate several of the Jötnar with special furniture made to account for their size.

Loki had gone to the facility to help oversee the renovation and was a bit surprised by how quickly things were coming together. He’d also been surprised by the various new recruits who were training to be Avengers. Young Peter had stopped by to “intern” for Tony but Loki knew it was simply a cover for the teenager to work on his own skills.

At his side, Jack stood and stretched then climbed into Loki’s lap where the trickster was leaning back in a pool chair by the lake the facility sat beside. Loki pulled the document with the list of attendees from his lap. “Excuse you,” he said to the kitten.

Loki felt not so little paws dig into his stomach as Jack stretched to lie along Loki’s chest. Loki also felt his tension slowly leave his body. Damn kitten could read him like a book. “Is this your way of asking for scritches?”

Jack meowed then lay his head down on his crossed paws. Loki rolled his eyes then set the documents down and, after making sure they wouldn’t blow away on him, began to scratch along Jack’s neck. Jack began to purr with happiness.

“You know, Morgan’s going to get jealous with all the attention that kitten’s getting.”

Loki tipped his head back to see Tony walking up the dock. “I don’t have to worry about her becoming jealous,” Loki replied. “I have to worry about her kittynapping him.”

Tony took a seat in the chair beside Loki’s. “You guys all ready for tomorrow?”

Loki had to swallow back the sudden nausea he felt at the thought. “As ready as we’re going to be, I guess.” He gestured to the papers on the ground. “Did you see the full list of attendees?”

Tony picked them up, “Not yet,” then scanned the documents. He winced, “They’re sending _Ross._ ”

Loki hadn’t been thrilled about that either. “Oddly enough, he isn’t who I worry about.”

“Who is?”

“King Býleistr and Prince Helblindi.”

“Oh,” Tony said softly as it dawned on him who those two were. “They’re your younger brothers, aren’t they?”

“Technically,” Loki replied.

“But they don’t know you’re related.”

Loki shook his head and resumed petting Jack. “No. I don’t plan on mentioning it either.”

“Why not?”

Loki sighed, “Because it makes things all the more complicated. I could, if I wanted to, which I don’t by the way; claim the throne of Jötunheim for myself. I am by all rights the true king of Jötunheim.”

“But you’re not going to lay any kind of claim, are you?”

“ _Norns_ no!” Loki replied, “I want _nothing_ to do with the throne.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“Just… if it comes out that I am Laufey’s first born I’m afraid the Jötnar will think I’m making a play for their Realm. Then again, maybe not. I did, kind of, try to destroy it a while back.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “You what?”

“It was a bad time, I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“It’s part of the events that led up to your suicide attempt, isn’t it?” Tony asked. “Then what led you to be captured by Thanos.”

Loki nodded, “Like I said, it was a bad time.”

They sat in silence for a few moments before Tony asked, “Do you really have any reason to believe they’ll scrap any negotiations if it does come out about who your birth parents are?”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Loki replied. “I’ve never met Býleistr or Helblindi but if they’re anything like Laufey, it’s possible.”

“Well, hopefully they take after their mom.”

“I don’t know anything about Farbauti other than she tried to have me killed as an infant.”

Tony winced, “Okay, then hopefully they take after neither of their parents.”

Loki agreed. He pulled his legs up but kept Jack cradled against his chest. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. They are a part of a family I never cared to know anything about.”

“Wait, are you worried that your dad kidnapped you and that your birth parents didn’t abandon you?”

Now that Tony mentioned it, that thought had been stirring in the back of his mind. “Odin never does anything without a purpose.”

“Yeah, but, come on. Ever since I met the guy, he just _screams_ ‘protective father’. I don’t believe he kidnapped you or took you for any reason other than to save your life.”

He and his father had had a number of discussions surrounding Odin brining Loki home from Jötunheim. While Loki _knew_ his father had done what he did to save Loki, there was still the lingering doubt. Loki hated that he still questioned his father’s motives.

“I know now he had no ulterior motive for taking me but that doesn’t always make the doubt completely disappear.”

“Yeah, probably not but… Look, whatever happens you know we have your back, right?”

Loki felt his lips pull up in a smile. “Yes Tony, I do and I appreciate the reassurance.”

“Great. Oh, that reminds me. I have something for you. Actually, Morgan found it, complained that it was spelled wrong but we got it anyway, you know, for the pun alone.”

Loki wasn’t sure if he should be afraid or not. “Dare I ask?”

Tony reached for a small bag Loki hadn’t noticed he’d brought with him. “Trust me; you’ll get a kick out of it.”

Loki took the bag and reached inside, pulling out a small piece of folded fabric. Opening it up, he saw that it was a dark green t-shirt with the words “Low Key” written across the front. He laughed, “This is great.”

“Thought you’d like it.”

“I do. Morgan found it?”

“Yeah, and after letting out this extremely dramatic sigh she said, and I quote, ‘They spelled Ki’s name wrong.’ I’m not sure if I should be afraid that she can spell your name or not.”

“Maybe…” Loki said, folding the shirt back up and putting it in the bag. “You might need to be more worried that she knows how to spell my name in runes.”

“She—” Tony’s head dropped. “Of course she can. Should I be hurt that my daughter practically worships the ground you walk on? Probably, but I’m really not.”

“She’s young,” Loki replied. He sobered a little. “It’ll wear off eventually.”

“Doubtful,” Tony said with a snort. Tony scrutinized him a little longer then shook his head. “After all those pep talks you gave the alternate Loki and _now_ you’re doubting yourself. Maybe you need to take your own advice.”

“I know,” Loki said and resumed petting Jack, “but the idea of meeting Laufey’s children, it…” he shook his head and picked the papers back up with his other hand, “never mind.”

Tony snatched the papers from his hand. “No, this is bugging you and you won’t be able to focus on the meeting if you’re distracted by whatever has your attention now.”

“Really Tony, it’s nothing.”

“Don’t make me get Pepper.”

“That’s low and there really is no point in fretting over it. I have questions that I’ll never have answered because both Laufey and Farbauti are dead. I can’t ask their sons for obvious reasons.”

“Pretend it’s not obvious.”

“Well first off, they don’t know I’m Laufey’s biological son and I plan to keep it that way.”

“You’re kinda skirting the issue Merlin.”

Loki shook his head in frustration but found the words tumbling from his lips anyways. “Why did they abandon me? Why get rid of me, try to _kill_ me but keep their other two children? Was it because I’m a runt or was there something else? I…” Loki clamped his mouth shut; refusing to allow voice to the question he feared the most. He swallowed hard, and then stood. He kept Jack cradled against his chest, part to keep the kitten from falling and part almost as though to use Jack as a shield. “I have work to do before tomorrow.”

“Loki,” Tony’s soft voice halted his flight, “first of all, your birth parents are Grade A assholes.” Tony stepped to stand in front of Loki. “Second, while we may not have originally met under the best circumstances you _are_ family now. You and Thor, your _real_ parents and hell, even your mini murder floof, you’re all family to us and none of us would ever abandon you.

“I would think that much was obvious given how hard we fought not just to find you in the other reality but to also find a way over there so we could kick Thanos’s ass _again._ Also, if you ever think for a _second_ Morgan will eventually tire of you then you need to have your head checked.”

“She’s still a child—”

“Yeah, no, not gonna happen. Dude, Morgan wants to go trapezeing through the multiverse so she can collect more of you. Trust me, you’re safe.”

“I know,” Loki replied, tipping his head up a bit when Jack tried to lick his chin. Undeterred, Jack climbed his shirt, tiny claws digging against Loki’s skin. Loki winced as Jack climbed onto his shoulder. “Jack, claws.”

Tony laughed, “See, even the mini murder floof thinks you’re being depressing.”

“Mini murder floof?”

“Oh please, don’t even _pretend_ you don’t know that phrase. I _know_ you and Morgan watch cat videos and you’re avoiding the subject.”

Loki rolled his eyes but he had to admit he did feel better from their reassurances, even if Jack’s came at the expense of licks and claws. “I know it _logically_ but there’s a difference between knowing something and feeling it.”

“I get that,” Tony said, falling into step with him as they headed back towards the facility. “While it’s not the same I _know_ my dad loved me but I didn’t always feel like he did. What you’re afraid of…” Tony paused for a moment. “What you’re asking yourself now is; if you’re biological parents didn’t want you, then why would anyone else?”

Talk about hitting the nail on the head.

Tony continued as though he hadn’t just put Loki’s heart in a vice. “…but you’re forgetting something _very_ important. Odin and Frigga, they _chose_ you to be their son. With Thor it was, ‘here you go, this one’s yours,’ but with you they _chose_ to keep you. They could have decided to put you with another family but they didn’t so that has to count for something.”

Loki had never thought to look at it that way. “You know, for a billionaire, philanthropist, former playboy, you can actually be smart sometimes.”

“Hey, hey, hey you forgot genius. It’s _genius, billionaire, philanthropist, former playboy_.”

Loki held up the bag containing his new shirt. “Tell Morgan I love the shirt.”

“Once this cluster is over you do realize you’re going to have your cling-on for a bit, right?”

“Yes, I already know I cannot come to Midgard and not visit my favorite niece.”

“She’s your only niece, unless Thor’s neglected to tell us something.”

“Given how… promiscuous he was when we were younger, I would be more surprised if he _didn’t_ have a child out there somewhere.”

“Okay, ew, list of things I didn’t need to think about.”

Loki laughed, “Serves you right. Think of it as payback for what you said to me.”

“What did I… Oh right,” Tony grinned evilly. “Bow chicka wow, wow.”

“Tony, I swear!” Loki yelled, calling his seiðr to him. Green swirled around his raised palm. “I _will_ turn you into something you’re not going to like.”

“Okay, okay,” Tony said, holding his hands up in surrender but still laughing. “Look, it worked, didn’t it?”

“What worked?”

“You’re not Mr. Mopey anymore.”

“I…” Loki tried, and failed, to suppress a smile at Tony’s antics. “I hate you so much right now.”

Tony gave him a cheeky smile. “Love you to Merlin.”

* * *

The morning of the summit came and Loki was a ball of nervous energy. Outwardly, none of it showed but inside he was ready to bolt at any second. He stood just to Thor’s right and while protocol dictated that he stand slightly behind his brother, Thor had pulled him so they were side by side.

“We’re equals,” Thor had hissed in his ear, “You don’t stand behind me,” and that was that.

To the left of the brothers were Ross and other members of the UN who had decided to attend while to their right were Tony and Pepper. Behind them all were Asgard’s Councilors. Odin and Frigga were at the facility but they were not taking part in the talks. They were there for moral support and to offer advice if asked.

The brothers had donned their ceremonial garb, Thor wearing his feathered helm and, much to Tony’s unfettered delight, Loki wore his horns. The councilors wore their own ceremonial robes while the Midgardians were dressed in formal wear of their own. In Ross’s case, the former General wore his military uniform. Loki had so wanted to roll his eyes at the man’s power play.

“When you’re ready Heimdall,” Thor said.

The members of the UN flinched as the Bifröst activated and after a moment or two it shut down to reveal the Jötunheim delegation.

Jötunheim’s delegates took a moment to accustom themselves to their surroundings. It occurred to Loki that this was most likely the first time some of them had been off Realm. The King and Prince had certainly never left Jötunheim. It must be a bit of a shock to them.

The Jötunn delegation wore a mix of luxurious looking furs cut to accentuate their form with golden jewels draped over their horns, denoting their status. All were barefoot and the anklets they wore make little tinkling sounds as they walked.

The smallest Jötun, who Loki took to be Prince Helblindi, looked up at the sky, his ruby eyes widening in awe. Even at this distance, Loki realized Prince Helblindi was several inches taller than he was. All of the Jötnar near towered over them.

They stepped closer, King Býleistr, who was almost the spitting image of Laufey, in the lead followed by his brother and their Councilors. Two hooded priestess trailed behind. Thor and Loki stepped forward to greet them.

“King Thor,” King Býleistr said with a nod of his head.

“King Býleistr,” Thor replied with a nod of his own. “We thank you for agreeing to meet with us.”

“We thank you for the opportunity to bring our Realms closer to peace.” King Býleistr turned to the Midgardians, “Jötunheim thanks Midgard for hosting this summit.”

Ross had apparently made himself the defacto leader of the UN members. He stepped forward, his back straight and ready to speak.

“You’re welcome,” Tony said before Ross could utter a sound.

Ross turned a glare on Tony. “There are a few things we need to go over before your talks can begin,” Ross said. “First, we need to be sure you don’t carry any potential pathogens so a _thorough_ medical examination is required. Next, you will not be allowed to wander the grounds unsupervised nor will you be allowed to leave these grounds. Until we can be assured you pose no threat to Earth you will have a security escort with you at all times.”

“Why were we not informed of these supposed stipulations?” Loki demanded, not in the mood for any of Ross’s posturing. From the looks of the other UN members, they weren’t aware of Ross’s conditions either.

“The Asgardians are bound by the same requirements,” Ross replied. His eyes bored into Loki. “ _None_ of you will move about unsupervised.”

“If this is what Midgard requires…” King Býleistr began.

One of his councilors started to protest, “My King!”

Tony held up a hand, “Hold up.” To King Býleistr he said, “Sorry.” To Ross, “That is absolute bull, completely unnecessary and you know it. This is the _Avengers_ facility and it probably has more security measures than Fort Knox.” He took a step towards Ross, “This has nothing to do with any kind of security measures or preventing pathogens from spreading. This is all about _your_ personal vendetta against Loki.

“ _Also_ and I reiterate,” he gestured around them, “ _Avengers facility_ , Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and all that. Thor _and_ Loki are both Avengers and not only that but _you_ are a guest here and the Avengers will back Loki before they back you. So, unless you want the boot, then don’t you dare try to pull another stunt like you did when Loki was petitioning for New Asgard.”

“Not exactly _neutral_ are you Stark?” Ross said.

“You are quite passionate in your defense of Prince Loki,” King Býleistr said.

“Loki and Thor are family to my wife and me,” Tony replied.

Loki cast a glance towards Pepper and almost recoiled. The scathing glare she was giving Ross made _Loki_ want to run for the hills.

“Favoritism,” Ross said snidely.

“On the contrary,” King Býleistr replied, “such loyalty is an admirable trait. Would that Jötunheim garner such loyalty.”

“I’m sure given time, you will,” Thor said.

“It’s so bright,” Prince Helblindi said, awe clear in his voice. His wonder seemed to break some of the tension that had built. “There are so many colors.”

“Blindi,” King Býleistr hissed.

“It’s all right,” Loki said, pointedly turning his back on Ross. “This is a new experience for him, correct?” King Býleistr nodded. “The first time on a new realm can be daunting.”

“Let’s head inside,” Pepper suggested, “We have a conference room set up for your summit.”

She headed inside, followed by Tony, Loki, Thor and all of the rest. Loki was thankful for Pepper and was especially glad she had agreed to be the mediator for the meeting. She would take no attitude from anyone, most certainly not Thaddeus Ross.

Inside the conference room, introductions were made and everyone took their seats. The table had been designed to allow everyone to sit comfortably while neither making the Midgardians and Asgardians look like children sitting at the big kids table nor making the Jötnar appear too large for the table either.

Tony and Pepper sat at the head of the table as moderators, Thor, Loki and Asgard’s council sat on one side while King Býleistr, Prince Helblindi and their council sat on the other. The UN delegation took up the rest of the table length.

Loki removed his helm once he sat, sending it to his dimensional pocket and pulling out several copies of the peace and trade proposal and passing them to all along the table.

“Our two Realms have been at odds for quite some time,” Thor began, removing his own helm as well. “I believe it is time for us to put aside the animosity of our forefathers and begin anew.”

“I agree,” King Býleistr said. “For too long have our two societies been at odds with one another. I doubt anyone even remembers what originally sparked the conflict.”

“There was a time when our Realms coexisted peacefully,” Loki added. “It will take time for the old prejudices to disappear and neither side should expect for it to happen overnight. Too much animosity has been taught on both sides.”

“Very true,” King Býleistr said. “Our father, the late King Laufey’s own recent actions are proof enough of that. We understand that he was killed while attempting to murder your own father. We understand compensation may be required for his act if this treaty is to go forward.”

Loki glanced at Thor out of the corner of his eye. Neither of them had been expecting that and Loki really didn’t want to divulge the real reason Laufey was killed nor his own part in the events.

Luckily, Thor saved him from having to say anything on the matter. “We can probably call that one even. I’m sure you are aware of my own actions against Jötunheim after my failed coronation?”

King Býleistr nodded. “My father sent a small party to Asgard in an attempt to retrieve the Casket. Your retaliation was warranted.”

“Actually, not so much,” Thor said. “We did not learn until afterwards that the ones who infiltrated Asgard were rogue agents. Your father had no knowledge of their actions and I did not give my father time to ascertain whether or not they were rogues within your father’s court. It was a… colossal misunderstanding all around.”

“Were I in your position at that time, I may have acted in the same manner, however,” King Býleistr turned his eyes upon his younger brother, “the Tørke Støv caused me to reevaluate what is and is not important.”

“The what?” Tony asked.

“The Tørke Støv, when half of the universe turned to dust.”

“Oh, we know it as The Snap,” Tony said, “since Thanos…” Tony snapped his fingers. “We all lost something in that.”

King Býleistr placed a hand on Prince Helblini’s shoulder. “When my brother turned to dust before my eyes, I realized then that I had much larger concerns than continuing along the same path Jötunheim has followed for millennia.”

Loki couldn’t imagine what he would have done had Thor turned to dust before his very eyes. He was more than thankful he never had to find out.

From the far end of the table, Ross snorted.

“Something to say Ross?” Loki asked.

Ross waved a hand and took a sip of his water. “Nothing, just,” he leaned against the able, “we are giving full disclosure here, correct?” His eyes settled on the Jötunn King. “Then you should probably know that Loki helped Thanos achieve his goal. You have him to thank for your brother dying for five years.”

“Oh for God’s sake,” Tony growled.

“You are dangerously close to being evicted from these proceedings,” Pepper said to Ross. She turned to King Býleistr. “ _Prince_ Loki,” the emphasis on his title was not lost on Loki, “was an unwilling participant in Thanos’s designs and he had no choice but to give up the Infinity Stone he had in his possession lest King Thor be killed by Thanos. I’m sure, your majesty, that were you given the choice between your brother’s life and the Stone, you would have made the same decision.”

“Loki was also instrumental in reversing what Thanos did,” Tony added, “and also in killing Thanos. Without Loki’s help I would be dead today.”

“It’s true, what the _former_ general says,” Loki said slowly. “I made some very poor decisions which led me to become a pawn of Thanos’s for a time. It is not a time I am particularly proud of.”

“From my understanding of the Titan,” King Býleistr said, “one has two choices when dealing with him, work for him or die in the most horrible of fashions.”

Loki had to fight the urge to rub the back of his neck where Thanos had broken it. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“Our Seiðkona used their power to see beyond our Realm in an effort to understand what happened to cause the Tørke Støv. I’m sure you can imagine our delight when all those who were taken were returned to us.”

“We can.”

“Then let us wipe the slate clean and begin anew.”

* * *

The next couple of days consisted of hashing out the terms of the treaty as well as discussing potential trade agreements between Asgard, Jötunheim and Midgard. They were _long_ days and Loki just wanted the week to end. They did have an “off” day coming up that he was greatly looking forward to. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without attempting to murder Ross or the councilors. More than one occasion had seen the Asgardian and Jötunheim councils at one another’s proverbial throats. Loki was amazed it hadn’t actually come to blows. Luckily, King Býleistr seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and both kings had chastised their advisors. Pepper throwing in her two cents had required Loki to hide his grin behind a glamour. Thor too, after his brother had smacked him under the table. Of course, after the meeting that night had ended, the brothers had given in to the fits of laughter they’d been forced to repress.

Loki could feel a migraine coming on as he sat staring at _another_ draft of the treaties. Both sides were having a hard time coming to a consensus, with Asgard’s council making insane demands over Jötunheim’s while Jötunheim’s did the same in return. Prince Helblindi was better behaved than the councilors and he _was_ still a child.

Jack pressed his head against Loki’s cheek before walking so that he was directly blocking Loki’s view of the document he was trying to go over. Loki pulled him from the table and placed the kitten in his lap. “I know what you’re trying to do,” he said, “but I have to work on this.”

Jack’s constant purring did help ease Loki’s stress a bit and he reached down to pet Jack when the kitten started to kneed at his leg.

A knock at his door had Loki wanting to scream. He did _not_ need any more trouble from the Councilors. They’d been hounding him to put their “requirements” in the treaty, which Loki refused to do. They were trying to mend hostilities, not create new ones.

Bracing himself, Loki called, “It’s open.”

The door opened rather hesitantly and when Loki turned to see who it was, he was surprised to see Prince Helblindi standing nervously in the doorway. “Prince Loki?” the young prince asked.

Loki stood, placing Jack on the desk as he did so. “Prince Helblindi,” Loki greeted. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Um… I was uh… wondering if I could ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“What?”

“Sorry, what did you want to ask?”

“You’re very powerful with seiðr, right, and you’re um… a shapeshifter too?”

Odd questions but, “Yes.”

“Can you shapeshift other people?”

“Yes. Why do you want to know?”

“I was wondering if maybe um…” Prince Helblindi looked out into the corridor as though he was afraid someone would see him. “I want to see more of the outside and I know like this,” he gestured to himself, “it might scare the Midgardians and I was kind of hoping that maybe you…”

“You want me to make you look Æsir.”

“Please,” the young prince begged. “Mormor won’t change me but…” he bit his lip. “I’m so bored!”

Loki didn’t know who “mormor” was but… “What does your brother say?” Loki pushed away the remainder that the boy before him was technically his younger brother.

“Bý doesn’t know.”

Oh, that would go over spectacularly. “I will only if your brother says it’s alright to do so.”

Prince Helblindi’s whole body sagged in relief. “Thank you.” Suddenly his eyes went wide, “What’s that?”

Loki looked back into his room. “Hm?”

“It’s…”

Loki let out a grunt as tiny yet _very_ sharp claws began to work their way up his pant leg, then along the back of his shirt until Jack was perched on his shoulder. “For Norns sake Jack, claws!” Jack, in an obvious attempt to appear innocent, rubbed his head against Loki’s cheek before beginning to lick at the same cheek.

Prince Helblindi’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “What is that? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Loki pulled Jack from his shoulder, holding the kitten by his scruff. “This is Jack; he’s a kitten and one who knows not to climb up my clothing.”

Jack let out a doleful meow and batted at Loki’s nose. “Oh you poor pathetic little thing you,” Loki said to Jack. He set Jack in the crook of his arm. Jack meowed again, this time sounding less pathetic. “You just want attention and scritches.” As though to prove his point, Jack started to purr once Loki began to pet him. “You’re an attention junkie, you know that?”

“We have nothing like that on Jötunheim.”

“There are no feline like creatures?”

Prince Helblindi shook his head no. “Nothing so small either.”

“Jack’s still a kitten, a baby if you will, so he’ll grow a bit more.”

“May I?” Prince Helblindi asked, tentatively reaching out a hand.

Loki froze as fear coursed through him. He knew now that Jötunn skin only burned when they wanted it to and while he was fearful for Jack, he was also afraid of what would happen should the young Prince’s skin come into contact with his own. He would have to tread carefully. “Let him sniff you first.”

Prince Helblindi held his hand close enough to Jack that the kitten could smell him if he wanted to. Jack, curious of this new being before him, sniffed tentatively at the young prince. He continued to sniff at Prince Helblindi then butt his head against Prince Helblindi’s fingers. “He’s so soft,” Prince Helblindi said with awe.

Loki was reminded of Morgan when she first pet Jack. “He is,” Loki replied, “and you’ve passed his test.”

From down the corridor King Býleistr called, “Blindi.”

“I’m here Bý,” Prince Helblindi replied. “You have to come see this. Prince Loki has this most amazing creature. It’s called a…” he glanced at Loki for confirmation, “a kitten?”

The king had the same look of wonder when his eyes fell upon Jack. He did not allow his obvious fascination overcome him though. “I hope he isn’t bothering you,” King Býleistr said.

“He’s not,” Loki replied. “This has been a welcome reprieve from constantly staring at documents all night.”

“Bý,” Prince Helblindi glanced up at his brother from the corner of his eye. “I asked Prince Loki if he would make me look Æsir so I can go outside and he said he would but only if you say it’s okay.”

King Býleistr let out a soft sigh. “I apologize for my brother.” He turned his attention to the younger Jötunn. “That is not a request you should be making of the prince.”

Prince Helblindi deflated some. “Mormor won’t do it,” he said with a frown.

“Mormor does not wish to upset the Midgardians.”

“If you’re talking about Ross, ignore him,” Loki said. “His self-importance is quite over inflated.”

“He doesn’t like you very much,” Prince Helblindi said, still petting Jack.

“Blindi,” King Býleistr chastised, a somewhat horrified look on his face.

“It’s all right,” Loki said. He found it surprising how easily it was to converse with these two. Of course, having Jack in his arms as moral support helped too. “His attitude isn’t necessarily unjustified. I led an army against this world about thirteen years ago and caused a good deal of death and destruction.”

“Those were the actions you were forced to take as a prisoner of the Titan,” King Býleistr said. At Loki’s surprised look, he added, “Your friend, Stark, was quite adamant in your defense and explained to us a little of the circumstances Ross was trying to use against you.”

Loki caught Jack’s paws when the kitten tried to latch onto one of the baubles dangling from Prince Helblindi’s wrists. “Even though I was made to believe it was my desire to conquer this world, it doesn’t change _what_ I did. I’m just thankful that I’ve been given the chance to atone for the actions I took. Honestly, this world is more forgiving that I’d ever imagined. There are only a few who think of me as Ross does.” A thought occurred to Loki, “We do have a down day coming up. Perhaps then we could smuggle you away from the compound? Tony would be all up for it, I’m sure. Anything to thoroughly annoy Ross is always pleasurable.”

“We’ll see,” King Býleistr said. “Actually, I wasn’t exactly looking for Blindi. I was hoping to locate you and King Thor. I was hoping we could speak privately.”

“Should we be speaking about the treaties ex parte?” Loki asked. At the king’s confused expression, Loki said, “Out of chambers?”

“Oh, no, this has nothing to do with the summit. It’s more of a… personal matter. It’s more for our mormor. She wishes to ask you something.”

“‘Mormor’,” Loki said. “Prince Helblindi has used that word but I’m afraid I don’t know the meaning of it.”

“Our, how do you say, grandmother?”

Loki could not help the shock which coursed through him and for a moment thought perhaps Thor had electrocuted him. Laufey’s mother was _here_? Dear Norns, what could she possibly want to ask them? How Laufey died? Does she suspect that Loki had lured the former Jötunn king to his death?

Before he could respond, he heard Thor call his name from the opposite side of the corridor. While Loki was thankful for the interruption, he really didn’t need any more distractions. “I’m never getting those treaties edited,” he mumbled to himself.

“King Thor,” King Býleistr said in greeting.

“Hello and please when we’re not in meetings, just call me Thor,” Thor said as he made his way over to them. “I hate the constant ‘King Thor’ this and ‘King Thor’ that.”

“Very well,” King Býleistr laughed, “then the same for me. When we are not in meetings, simply call me Býleistr.”

“Call me Blindi,” Helblindi said.

They turned to Loki, “Loki is fine. Actually I’m still waiting for Tony to call me Merlin during one of the meetings.”

“Merlin?” Blindi asked.

Even Thor looked confused and now Loki did roll his eyes. “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.” Still more blank looks. “Seriously brother, pick up a book once in a while.”

“Reading is boring,” both Thor and Helblindi said simultaneously. Even the tone of their voices was the same.

“Reading is not boring, so long as you have the right material,” Býleistr said.

“Thank you,” Loki said. “Just because you can’t scrape two brain cells together,” he said to Thor, “to work your way through a book doesn’t make reading boring. I think, between the four of us, you’re the only one who doesn’t enjoy reading.”

“Father never read,” Thor said.

“Father never had _time_ to read,” Loki pointed out. “There’s a difference.”

Thor rolled his eyes, “ _Anyway,_ Tony’s ordering pizza. I came to see what you wanted.”

“Where’s he ordering from?”

“Joe’s Pizzeria, I think.”

“Yes,” Loki said, extending the ‘s’ with happiness. “Pepperoni is fine.”

“No pineapple?” Thor asked.

Loki gaped at his brother. “What is _wrong_ with you? Pineapple should _never_ be on a pizza. That’s… that’s sacrilegious!”

Thor smiled, “Pineapple it is.”

Jack hissed, causing Helblindi to flinch back at the sound. “See, even Jack knows pineapple stays away from pizza,” Loki said.

“You’re free to join us if you’d like,” Thor said to the two Jötnar.

“Thank you for the offer,” Býleistr replied, “but we would not wish to impose.”

“You wouldn’t be. I think it would be good for us to get to know one another outside of the meetings.”

“I agree. I had hoped you and Pri— Loki,” Býleistr corrected himself, “would agree to speak with us outside of the meetings. Our grandmother wishes to speak with you as well and she was also hoping your honorable father and mother would join us too.”

“Your grandmother?” Thor asked, turning surprised eyes on Loki. “Um, yes, I don’t think that will be a problem. Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow night or even the morning after. Our down day is the day after tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Býleistr said with a nod of his head. “Until then.”

The two Jötnar left, Helblindi giving Jack one last pet before following his brother. Loki felt his stomach twist into knots. As excited as he’d been for pizza, the thought of food now turned his stomach.

After the two Jötnar had disappeared, Thor asked, “Are you okay?”

Loki returned to his room, Thor trailing behind. “Ask me when all of this is over.”

“Loki…”

“What? What do you want me to say?” Loki snapped.

“I don’t know, something,” Thor replied, closing the door behind him. “I didn’t know she was among the guests. She must be one of the priestesses.”

Loki had thought as much as well. “Would it have made a difference if you’d known?”

“Of course it would,” Thor said. “Loki, this woman is their grandmother, _your_ grandmother—”

“No,” Loki interrupted sharply, setting Jack down lest he squish the kitten from how tense his body had become, “I refuse to acknowledge Laufey’s mother as any relation of mine.”

Thor ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry Loki,” he said with a sigh.

“Sorry? For what?”

“I should never have suggested this meeting. You shouldn’t have to deal with this and I know how uncomfortable you are with it.”

“My comfort level has no bearing on these proceedings,” Loki replied. “We’ve already agreed we’re not telling them the truth of my birth so what does it matter? Let’s just… let’s just finish out this week and go from there.”

“Please don’t do this.”

“I’m not about to abandon the summit.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean? What do you want with me Thor?”

Thor grabbed Loki’s shoulder and spun him around until they faced one another. “You have been avoiding everyone here unless we are in meetings. You have no idea how surprised I was to see you speaking to Býleistr and Helblindi. You’re hiding—”

“I am not hiding,” Loki said, pushing away from Thor. “I’m doing what I need to be doing as your Chancellor. You, as king, need to do your part by _not_ starting any new wars. Now if you don’t mind,” he gestured to his desk, “I really do need to finish going over these new changes.”

“I wish you would talk to me.”

“About what?” Frustration was evident in Loki’s voice. “I’m working to bring peace between our two Realms, like you asked, and I can’t do that unless I’m actually _working_ on it. Garnering peace is a long and delicate process and me taking my time to make sure everything is right is not me _hiding_ from anything.”

“Why won’t you say what’s bothering you?”

“Who said anything is bothering me?”

“We’re all worried about you. I know the things Ross has been saying during the meetings is bothering you even if you try to pretend otherwise. The same goes with having Býleistr and Helblindi so close and now we learn their grandmother is here too. Loki, you cannot tell me this isn’t upsetting you.”

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling his headache coming back full force. “Norns, we are not having this conversation,” he muttered. He dropped his hand. “Thor, I’m fine and I don’t care one iota about anything Ross says or that Laufey’s children and mother are here. All of them, they mean _nothing_ to me. It’s you and Tony and everyone else who are making a bigger deal out of things than they need to be.”

“I would believe you if you didn’t spend all of your free time away from everyone.”

“There’s your problem, you assume I _have_ free time.”

“You can’t honestly be spending every waking hour working on the agreements?”

“I can, I have and right now you’re keeping me from making the edits I need to make before tomorrow.”

“At least wait until after dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You can’t be seri—”

Beyond annoyed, Loki pushed against Thor’s chest and used his seiðr to teleport his brother back to his own chambers. Loki also warded his room so he could not be disturbed any further. He sat back at his desk, taking a pen in hand and readied himself for more death by parchment.

Unfortunately, Thor’s words continued to plague Loki’s thoughts, which in turn brought about old musings he’d had that he’d forced into submission. He didn’t… he wasn’t…

Loki hadn’t allowed himself to dwell on certain things in years but the summit, and Tony and Thor’s meddling, had brought old fears and hurts to the forefront.

Loki knew, _he knew_ , he didn’t have to hide any of his fears or pain. He _knew_ he didn’t need to make himself useful so people would keep him around. He _knew_ his family cared for him and would never…

Loki realized Thor was right. He’d fallen back into his bad habit of nearly working himself to death so he could prove to his friends and family that he was useful in order to prevent them from finding him lacking and deciding they didn’t need him anymore. Loki cursed himself, the last time this had happened has been after Nebula had played one of his torture sessions to the members of the UN when he’d been petitioning for a place to build New Asgard.

Of course, knowing all of those things didn’t keep the thoughts from swirling in his mind and doubting himself. It also didn’t help that he could see the obvious affection between Býleistr and Helblindi. Their parents had kept them and Loki… Loki had meant nothing to them, less than nothing if his being thrown away the moment he was born meant anything. His own birth parents had abandoned him, so what would prevent…

Loki turned to Jack when the kitten jumped back up onto the desk. He cursed the tears he felt forming in his eyes. “You’ll never abandon me, right Jack?” The kitten licked away the tear that had fallen down Loki’s cheek. Loki wrapped his arms loosely around Jack and laid his head against Jack’s soft fur. Jack continued to lick at Loki’s temple as Loki worked to dispel the fears that had once again taken root in his heart.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Thor meet their grandmother and the group takes a trip up the coast for a day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is all I have done so far with the exception of a few paragraphs for part 3. I know what's going to happen, the characters just need to get there. I said I was shooting myself in the foot for starting to post this when I did but I guess I was too excited for everyone to see what was coming next.

**_Two_ **

The following night, after another _long_ day of talks in which Loki seriously contemplated murder, he found himself gathered with the rest of his family as they waited for Býleistr, Helblindi and their grandmother to arrive.

By some miracle, Loki managed to keep from pacing the room. As a matter of fact, he appeared quite calm and collected. Thor seemed to be fretting more than anyone else was. Loki actually found it amusing.

Loki absently pet Jack, who lay purring in his lap. Jack was another reason Loki wasn’t pacing nervously. He had a cat in his lap. It was universal law that when one has a feline upon their lap; they are not allowed to get up. _For anything._ Therefore, if anyone asked, he was currently suffering from a case of feline paralysis.

There finally came a knock at the door and Thor rushed to answer it, Loki turned his head to watch as they entered. He would have stood, but again, cat.

Their three guests entered and to Loki’s surprise, their grandmother had kept her hood up. That was… odd. Surely the Jötun delegation knew this woman to be Laufey’s mother.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us,” Býleistr said.

“I welcome the chance to speak outside of official business,” Thor replied.

Helblindi, having spotted Jack, scurried over and planted himself at Loki’s feet. “Mormor look,” he said to his grandmother, “this is the creature I told you about.” His ruby eyes were alight with wonder but he waited for a nod from Loki before attempting to pet Jack.

After offering the other two a place to sit, Thor took the seat beside Loki while their parents sat on a small couch next to them. Loki was actually glad they’d decided to have this conversation in one of the larger guest rooms. There was no chance of any of the Avengers or members of either delegation stumbling upon them, especially if things should delve into an argument.

“It is a beautiful creature,” their grandmother replied.

His father jerked, eye widening in surprise and Loki wondered what that was about. His father stood, the emotions on his face shifting from shocked to hurt to angry. “Lower your hood,” Odin demanded.

Loki shared a more than confused look with his brother. “Father?” Thor asked.

“Do you know her?” Loki asked, realizing his father’s reaction had to do with recognition of the woman’s voice.

“Yes, he knows me,” replied the woman, doing as Odin said. “Although it has been some millennia since we have seen one another.”

Almond shaped ruby eyes looked back at them from a face that had not been completely ravaged by age. She had some wrinkles but they only enhanced her elegance. A few wisps of white hair framed sharp cheekbones and down along a strong jaw line. The rest of her hair was held back in a single braid, which extended well past her waist. Her full lips turned upwards in a small smile and there was no mistaking the look of fondness in her eyes when she gazed at Odin. “Hello son.”

Loki was glad he was sitting down because those two words would have had him flat on his ass had he been standing. It didn’t, however, stop him and Thor from exclaiming, “Son?”

“Father told me you died,” Odin said, ignoring their outburst.

Her red eyes widened, “Bor told you what?”

“He said you’d died. He said you were killed during the rebellion on Jötunheim.”

Okay, this was news because neither he nor Thor knew what the _Hel_ the two were talking about.

Bestla pursed her lips. “He would tell you that, wouldn’t he? He was not happy with my decision to stay behind so I could protect Farbauti.”

Before Loki could utter a single word to one of the _many_ questions he now had, his father held up a hand and said, “Don’t say it.”

Loki immediately knew what his father thought he’d been about to say. “I didn’t…”

Thor leaned over to whisper, “You were thinking it.”

Okay, guilty and perhaps he had been a little repetitive with the reminders but… “What did Farbauti need protection from?” Loki asked, before his father could interrupt him.

“You don’t seem all together surprised to know our parents are siblings,” Býleistr commented.

“Not really,” Thor replied.

“You knew?” asked Helbindi.

“Not until recently,” Loki said, “and completely by accident.” Loki quickly switched the topic before either of them could ask how they’d found out. “What did Farbauti need protection from?” he asked again.

“Asgard, of all things,” Bestla replied, finally taking a seat. “Of my children, she was the only one born completely Jötunn in appearance. When relations between our two peoples began to sour, the Æsir could not abide a Jötunn on Asgard’s throne.”

_…_ _you could never have a Frost Giant on the throne of Asgard!_

“Odin,” Frigga said gently, “please sit.”

“All this time,” Odin said, falling back into his seat, “why did you not say anything?”

“For your sister’s safety,” Bestla said, “and that of the boys.”

“Forgive me but, didn’t Farbauti die?” asked Loki.

A look of sadness came over each of their faces. “Yes, she died of an illness when Helblindi was only a few centuries old.”

“Some think father poisoned mother,” Býleistr said, giving Bestla a strange look, “but, for all of his faults, father loved mother and would never have done such a thing to her.”

It was odd to imagine Laufey loving anyone.

Bestla shook her head and a smile crossed her lips. “I am so happy to finally meet you,” she said, looking to Thor and Loki. “I have watched you from afar when I could.”

Loki felt his heart skip. Did she know the truth? Was she aware he was Laufey and Farbauti’s biological son?

“You have no idea how happy I was to hear Asgard had been restored along with all of her people.” She continued, seemingly unaware of Loki’s inner turmoil. Her gaze turned to Odin. “I was devastated to hear of your death Odin. To know you were returned as well, I was beyond overjoyed. I only wish all six of my grandchildren could be here.”

“Six?” Thor asked.

Loki was just as confused. He did a quick count. “If you mean to include Hela, she’s better off where she is.”

“You’ve met?” asked Býleistr.

Thor nodded, “Yes, it didn’t go over very well.”

“She tried to kill us,” Loki added flippantly.

“She tore out my eye.” Thor frowned. “She broke my hammer,” he said with a pout.

Loki couldn’t help the snicker which escaped him. “You can’t really be sad over that still, can you?”

“I had her for years.”

“And now you have an oversized axe.”

“It’s not the same.”

“Oh yes, because with Mjölnir you could beat things to a pulp and Stormbreaker allows you to play at being an axe murderer.”

“What is it with you and saying I’m going to chop off body parts with Stormbreaker?”

“Maybe because you have, more than once.”

“I haven’t—”

“Thanos.”

“That was justified.”

“I’m not saying it wasn’t.”

“Then why do you keep bringing it up?”

“Because you seem to have a fetish with oversized weapons.”

“Says the man who enjoys stabbing people.”

Loki grinned widely at Thor, which caused his brother to scoot away just the tiniest bit.

“Are they always like this?” Bestla asked.

Their mother nodded and Loki could tell she was fighting to keep a smile a bay. “Yes, it becomes even worse when Anthony is with them.”

“Oh, don’t bring Tony into this. There is a child present, let’s not scar him _just_ yet,” Loki said. He felt a small paw pull at his hand and he resumed petting Jack. “You said six grandchildren,” he said to Bestla as the math still hadn’t added up.

Bestla hummed, her expression turning sad once more.

“Mother and father had a child before me,” Býleistr said. His gaze fell to the floor and Loki thought he detected both shame and sadness in his expression.

“Having been forced from her home, Farbauti became bitter towards Asgard,” Bestla explained. “She embraced Jötunheim completely, to include the worst our culture had to offer.” She focused her attention on Loki and Thor. “In Jötunheim, there is a stigma against runts. They are seen as a curse, a blight upon a House. By rights, your father and uncles would be considered runts in Jötunn society and, indeed given their Jötunn heritage, they are.

“The change in demeanor regarding runts happened during the time of Jötunheim’s worst famine. The chances of a child born a runt surviving during that time was near impossible. It became a practice to kill a runt in infancy than to have it suffer starvation. Such a practice became warped over time and after the famine, runts came to be seen as a burden and a shame. Eventually runts became a sign of weakness and that the gods had forsaken whatever family a runt was born too.

“Unfortunately, Farbauti embraced those old ways to such an extent that when she and Laufey came to power it was ordered that any runt be executed and the mother to commit suicide so her shame could not spread to others. Ironically enough, Farbauti’s first child was a runt.

“They were both so embarrassed by this and while Farbauti couldn’t bring herself to take the child’s life with her own hands, she instead left the child in the temple and let the battle take the child’s life.”

Loki felt his throat close at hearing how easily his birth mother tossed him away. He made sure his expression gave nothing away.

“You keep saying ‘the child’,” Frigga said, her gaze flitting to Loki for only a moment. It would have been unnoticeable had he not been watching for it. “Why?”

“Mother never said if she gave birth to a boy or a girl,” Býleistr replied.

“She and father never spoke of our sibling,” Helblindi added. “We only know of them because of mormor.”

“I have many regrets where Farbauti is concerned,” Bestla continued. “My biggest regret, however, is I was unable to get to her child on time.”

Now it was Loki’s chest, which seemed to constrict. “You went looking?”

Bestla nodded, “I did not know Farbauti had even given birth until she told me what she had done with the babe. By the time I made it to the temple, the battle had ended, the Casket taken and… there was nothing left but blood. All of the bodies had been removed and I had no way of finding the baby’s body. As far as she and Laufey were concerned, the child had never existed. I had never hated Laufey and my daughter more than in that moment. Laufey’s only saving grace in what happened is he refused to allow Farbauti to take her life. It was due to his own pride and that such an action would have announced to the Realm that their child was a runt but it kept my daughter alive long enough to give me two more grandsons.”

“What would you have done,” Odin asked, “had you found the babe?”

“Rescued it,” Bestla said without hesitation, “and hidden him or her where Laufey and Farbauti would never have found them. There is a community, far beyond the Jökel Mountains where runts can live in peace. Not all ascribe to the archaic ways and after the death of my grandchild, I vowed to never let another runt suffer the same fate again.”

Loki was unsure what to make of this information. He had absolutely no idea how to feel about it either. On one hand and as much as he hated to admit it, it hurt to know he’d meant nothing to his birth parents. On the other, who would he be today had Bestla found him instead of Odin? He wouldn’t be Loki that was for sure.

The conversation became little more than background noise to Loki. He would contribute every now and again but, oddly, his mind remained blank. He focused on petting Jack which helped keep his emotions in check. He appreciated that neither Thor nor their parents let on that they knew what had happened to him. He found it a little odd but he felt just the tiniest bit of guilt at leaving Bestla and the others in the dark.

Eventually the hour became late enough that they parted ways. Jack had fallen asleep on Loki’s lap and he was very careful not to wake the kitten. After the Jötnar left, there was a profound silence in the room. Loki felt his hackles rise.

“Ask me when this is over,” he said before any of them could ask him he was feeling. Truth be told, Loki had no idea. What was he even supposed to feel? He could tell his parents and Thor all wanted to say _something_ but Loki doubted he was even ready to hear it. He returned to his room, warding the door just to be safe. He wouldn’t put it past his brother to come wanting to talk about his feelings. While he appreciated the sentiment, he just wasn’t ready.

Needing something to distract himself, he returned to the documents on his desk to continue going over them. They were just boring enough that they would hopefully put him into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Loki awoke the next morning to a small tongue licking his nose. He turned his head and pulled the covers up enough to cover himself. There was a beat of stillness then pawing at the blanket. He cracked an eye when Jack pulled the blanket off his face. The paw bopping his nose had him sighing. “All right, I’m up.”

He threw back the blankets, making sure not to send Jack flying in the process. After refilling Jack’s food and water bowls, he went to get himself ready for the day.

As he showered, he wondered what they would do that day. He had offered to Helblindi that they would leave the compound so the boy could explore more of Midgard but Loki wasn’t really sure where they should go.

He dressed, opting to wear his new shirt. Norns the councilors would have aneurysms, then headed out to find something for breakfast. He would need to take Jack to the brownstone before he went out anywhere but he didn’t have to do it right then.

He found his brother and parents eating breakfast with Bestla, Býleistr and Helblindi. His father was speaking to Bestla and Loki suspected there would be some long discussions in their future.

“Morning, I made eggs,” Thor said upon seeing him.

“Morning,” Loki replied then made a face, eyeballing the scrambled eggs. “You cooked? Thor, we talked about this.”

Thor rolled his eyes, “It was _one_ time.”

“Don’t forget your loss to the Kitchen-Aid.”

“Oh for the love of… really Loki? My cooking isn’t _that_ bad.”

“You haven’t killed anyone with it yet, I’ll grant you that.”

“I think this is good,” Helblindi said.

Thor shot him a smug look, “See, _someone_ likes my cooking.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know better.”

“What… _What_ are you wearing?”

Loki looked down at his shirt and grinned. “Tony gave it to me; he said Morgan picked it out.”

“I can believe it but I can also believe Tony buying it then saying Morgan picked it out.”

“What did Morgan find for you?” Frigga asked. Loki turned so his mother could see the shirt. She laughed, “Oh, that’s adorable.”

“I don’t understand it,” Býleistr said.

Loki remembered that even though the Jötnar could speak Midgardian languages, they couldn’t read them. It was why the treaties were translated into several different languages.

“It’s a play on my name,” Loki explained. “It’s the words ‘Low Key’.”

“It’s a pun.”

“A terrible pun,” Thor said.

“You’re just jealous you don’t have one for yourself,” Loki said, finding himself something to eat. He didn’t trust Thor’s eggs.

“Are we still going to explore Midgard today?” Helblindi asked hopefully.

“Blindi,” Býleistr sighed, “we have to be careful. Midgard has been kind enough to host us and we can’t afford to lose their favor.”

“If you’re worried about Ross, don’t be,” Thor said. “He may act like he has authority now, but his government wouldn’t risk losing potential trade with Asgard.”

“He’s the Secretary of State,” Loki reminded him.

“Yes, but he _can_ be fired from his position.”

“Good point.” He took a seat beside Helblindi. “I haven’t quite figured out what we are going to do.” To Thor, he said, “Depending on who all is going, we’ll need to take two cars. I need to remove Morgan’s car seat before we leave.”

“We’re not taking the cars,” Thor replied.

“We’re not?”

Thor shook his head. “No, we’re taking a quinjet.”

Loki’s eyebrows shot up. “Ross will _love_ that.”

“Thought you’d like that. We’ll figure out exactly what we’re going to do in a little bit. The others should be here soon.”

“Others?” In answer to his question, the pitter patter of little feet reached his ears. “They were supposed to spend their day together.”

“Don’t pretend it doesn’t make you happy.”

Loki narrowed his eyes at his brother but shook his head anyway. He caught sight of his mother’s sly smile and realized the two had conspired together. He left his chair and snatched up the bundle of energy which barreled into the room, swinging the little girl up into his arms.

“Ki!” Morgan laughed, “you were ‘possed to be surprised!”

“I am surprised,” he said, adjusting his grip, “but I could hear you coming from a mile away.”

“I told her she needed to be quieter,” Tony said as he and Pepper entered the room behind their daughter.

“I was too excited.” Morgan folded her arms and leaned in until her nose was touching Loki’s. “You haven’t come to see me Ki.”

“Oh, you’re in trouble,” teased Thor.

“I’ve been busy. I would not have returned to Asgard without coming to see you first,” Loki told her.

“Good,” she leaned back. “Look Ki,” she opened her mouth and used her tongue to wiggle a tooth. “I ‘ot a ‘oose ‘ooth.”

Loki chuckled and set her down. “I see. You’re growing up so fast.”

“You’re wearing the shirt I found.”

“I am and I love it. Thank you.”

“I feel like chopped liver over here,” Thor said with a pout.

“Hi T’or. Hi Miss Figga, hi Pirate Santa.” Morgan went to give each of them a hug but skidded to a halt when her eyes landed on the Jötnar. Her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped open. “Ki,” she said, grabbing his leg, “they’re blue.”

“Yes they are,” he replied. Loki could almost hear the gears turning in her head and hoped she wouldn’t mention _his_ blue.

“Are they ‘posed to be giants?” At his nod she stepped closer to Býleistr and tipped her head up to look at him. “Are you _really_ a giant?”

“I am,” Býleistr replied.

Morgan narrowed her eyes at him then looked over at Helblindi then at Bestla and back to Býleistr. “A giant? How come you’re so short?”

“Morgan!” Tony cried, “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”

Helblindi laughed, “She called you short!” he teased his brother.

“You’re still shorter than me,” Býleistr replied.

“Giants are ‘possed to be really, really, _really_ tall,” Morgan explained.

“Her idea of a giant is someone who is taller than a house,” Pepper explained.

“Jötnar of that stature are rare,” Býleistr said, “I have only ever heard of one.”

“Thrym,” Bestla said and Loki could detect a hint of disgust in her voice. “A most disagreeable giant.”

“We’ve met,” Loki said, recalling the adventure. Thor did not look pleased to have that particular giant brought up.

“You have?” Býleistr and the two children asked.

Loki nodded. “You’ve heard of him Morgan, remember he’s in your _favorite_ story.”

“Oh, the one where T’or—”

The spatula Thor was holding clattered to the ground as he scrambled around the counter to stop her from continuing. Morgan, already one step ahead of him, rushed back to Loki.

“T’or had to dress up like a girl!” she finished.

“Face it Thor, you’re never living that down,” Tony said.

Thor, with his hands on his hips affected a serious expression. “It is a very good thing you’re cute,” he said to Morgan.

Morgan giggled. “Where’s Jack on Crack?” she asked Loki.

“In my room,” Loki replied. He retrieved Jack so Morgan could play with the kitten.

Breakfast continued on in that manner and Morgan was introduced to each of the Jötnar. She had _many_ questions when she was told that Bestla was Odin’s mother. Her first reaction being, “How come you’re not blue too? Are you holding out on me Pirate Santa?”

His father explained, no, he wasn’t holding out on Morgan but that he took after his father. Loki thought about making a quip about turning him blue for her but decided against it. It hit far too close to home with his own “true” form.

When the time came to depart, it was Bestla and not Loki who cast the spell over herself, Helblindi and Býleistr to give them an Æsir appearance. Loki and Thor shared a look and Loki felt his stomach twist, fearful that his own parentage would be completely obvious.

Helblindi looked nearly identical to how Loki had at that age. He had the same dark hair, green eyes and fair complexion. The boy lamented the loss of height his current form had. Býleistr on the other hand, while his skin was the color of porcelain as well, had lighter hair and his eyes were more blue than green. Bestla for her part, was easily recognizable from the portraits of her throughout the palace, though older and with her hair completely white as opposed to dark brown.

Loki quickly teleported Jack to the brownstone and while he knew the kitten could keep himself entertained, Loki was more than likely going to check on him throughout the day anyway.

Morgan held his hand as they made their way to the waiting quinjet. They passed Rhodes who took one look at them, sighed, and handed Tony a twenty. Tony pocketed the money, looking smug the whole time. When they all looked at Tony for an explanation, he shrugged.

“You made a bet with him over the shirt,” Loki guessed.

“Guilty,” Tony said, grinning. “Easiest twenty bucks ever.”

Loki passed Tony and with a little slight of hand, took the money for himself. He wondered how long it would take Tony to realize it was missing.

They boarded the jet and everyone took their seats. Morgan sat on one side of him and Helblindi on the other. The boy was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw.

“Where are we going?”

“The beach,” Tony replied as he manipulated the controls and the quinjet lifted off. “I figured since, from what you guys have told me about Jötunheim that it’s practically Antarctica, the ocean would be interesting.”

“We have oceans on Jötunheim,” Bestla said.

“But do you have sandy beaches and sunshine? Thor said your planet was pretty far from its sun so I’m guessing our beaches are a lot different from ours.”

“Valid point,” Bestla agreed.

They made small talk during the flight and Loki found himself not as uncomfortable around his new family members as he thought he would be. He still had no intention of telling them the truth and perhaps his withholding it made him a bit of a hypocrite but it concerned _him_ and he just wasn’t ready.

Morgan leaned against his side and began to tell him about everything he had missed since he had seen her last. It helped pass the time and it also took his mind off of things he would rather not think about.

* * *

“Come on Ki!” Morgan yelled, making a beeline for the exit of the quinjet.

“Hold up squirt,” Tony said. He wagged a bottle, “Sunscreen.”

Morgan made her way over to her father as though the world was ending. She held her arms out and affected a look of displeasure as Tony applied the sunscreen. The bottle ended up passed around for anyone else who wanted it.

They left the jet, walking a short distance up the road towards the entrance to the beach and the first thing to hit Loki was the smell. The sea air always brought him feelings of calm and the crashing of waves in the distance brought a smile to his lips. The look of absolute _wonder_ on both Býleistr and Helblindi’s faces gave Loki pause. They had never seen a sight like this before, probably had never thought something like it even existed. Loki teleported them all the short distance from the quinjet to the road leading up to the beach.

The beach was crowded with tourists and vacationers milled about. He was glad they hadn’t brought cars as finding parking would have been neigh impossible. Both Býleistr and Helblindi stared slack jawed with Býleistr’s eyes following a few of the bikini clad women.

With a thought, Loki traded out his boots for sandals and slightly looser jeans which he rolled up to just below his knees.

“Frigga and I are headed for the shops,” Pepper said, adjusting her sun hat. “You’re welcome to join us,” she said to Bestla.

“I would love to,” Bestla replied, “but…” her eyes fell upon her grandsons.

“Don’t worry, we won’t lose them,” said Tony.

“I will be sure they return unharmed,” Odin told his mother.

“I don’t think that’s what she’s worried about,” said Frigga.

“There isn’t a single adult among any of you,” Pepper deadpanned.

“Well between Tony and Thor I hope you brought enough bail money,” Loki quipped.

At Thor’s look, Loki took off for the beach, scooping up Morgan along the way and making sure to keep one-step ahead of his brother. Morgan’s laughter turned many heads as they went and he quickly made his way down the stairs and onto the beach proper. He set Morgan down once they reached the bottom of the stairs. Boulders lined the retaining wall behind them and many more were partially buried in the sand. Small pools of water had collected among the boulders from when the tide had gone out and warmed in the morning sun.

Loki removed his and Morgan’s sandals and sent them into his dimensional pocket. He saw the others following behind at a slightly slower pace.

“Come on Bindi!” Morgan called.

Helblindi awkwardly made his way over to them. “This feels so strange,” he said as he towed at the sand.

“Let’s build a sand castle,” suggested Morgan.

“A castle built out of sand?” Helblindi asked. “That’s possible?”

“Yep.”

They went closer to the water and found a spot to claim as their own. Tony laid out a blanket he’d brought with him and Thor and Odin set up some beach chairs. Loki knelt in the sand with Morgan and began to help her build a sand castle. She instructed Helblindi on the proper way of constructing a sand castle.

Sometime later, and after erecting a rather large castle, Morgan asked, “Daddy, can we go swimming?”

“Let’s wait until mommy gets back. She might want to get lunch first.” Tony replied. “You also need to put your swimsuit on.”

Helblindi shared a slightly panicked look with his brother. “Swimming?” He looked back out at the ocean. “I don’t know how to swim,” Helblindi admitted.

“Ki can teach you,” Morgan said. “He taught me and he’s the bestest at everything.”

“The ocean might not be the best place to learn,” Thor told her, “but I’m sure we can teach him how to jump the waves.”

“I don’t know how to swim either,” Býleistr admitted.

“Ki can teach you too,” offered Morgan.

“Oh I can, can I?” Loki asked. He held out his hands, “I didn’t bring any swim trunks with me.”

“Don’t worry brother, I have you covered.” Thor reached into one of the bags they’d brought with them and pulled out an absolutely gaudy pair of trunks. They were neon yellow and were those flamingos on them?

Loki raised an eyebrow. “I hope no bets were placed over _those_ because Muspelheim will freeze before I wear that.”

Even Morgan wrinkled her nose. “T’or, those are ugly.”

“That’s the point,” Thor said.

They continued to play in the sand and the women returned a short time later. None of them were wearing the same outfits they had left in. Bestla wore a pale yellow sundress while Pepper and Frigga each sported a sarong. Pepper’s was a dark red and Frigga’s was sky blue. The husband’s of said women stared at their wives with wide eyes, or eye in Odin’s case.

“Mommy!” Morgan yelled, rising and scampering over to her mother. “I wanna go swimming but daddy said I had to wait for you.”

“Tattle tail,” Tony mumbled.

“Let’s get lunch then we can all go swimming,” Pepper replied.

“Yay!” she ran back to him. “Let’s get hot dogs Ki.”

Loki swung Morgan over his shoulder, “We’re at the beach. I’m getting fried clams.”

A few of them went up to the Forbes Seafood Restaurant & Take Out to get something for their lunch. Loki’s previous question was answered when Tony finally realized the money he’d won from Rhodes was missing. Smirking, Loki made sure to flaunt the twenty as he paid for his food. They brought the food back to their spot on the beach to eat. The food was another new experience for Býleistr and Helblindi and both of them were absolutely in love with French fries.

“We are hitting Billy’s Crowder House before we leave,” Tony said.

“That had better have been a statement and not a question,” Loki said.

“Duh.”

Once they’d finished their meal and everyone who was going to swim had changed into bathing suits they headed towards the water. When Pepper and his mother removed their sarongs to reveal their own bikinis, Loki would have laughed at the blush his father now sported if it weren’t for the fact his _mother_ was in a _bikini._

Tony slid up to him. “Bow chicka wo— ow!” Tony rubbed the back of his head from where he’d been smacked.

Loki shared a look with his brother and, both being of the same mind; each grabbed hold of Tony and lifted him from the ground. Tony struggled to free himself from their grasp but to no avail.

“All right, I get it! I won’t— Don’t you dare!”

Tony shrieked as they tossed him into the water. He made a rather large splash and came up sputtering. A piece of kelp clung to his head.

“I hate you both,” Tony deadpanned. In response, Loki and Thor each blew him a kiss.

“Me next!” Morgan yelled, arms raised, “Me next!”

“You next?” Loki asked as he picked her up. “Ready? Hold your breath.”

Morgan did and Loki let himself topple backwards into the water. They came up and a small wave hit them as they did so.

“You gotta toss me Ki.”

“I’d rather not, there are a lot of big rocks hiding in the water and I don’t want you to hit one of them.”

“You and T’or tossed daddy.”

“Daddy deserved it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Toss me.”

“Aren’t we supposed to teach Helblindi and Býleistr how to jump the waves?”

“Right!” she turned and waved at the two, “Bý, Bindi come on!”

The two Jötnar slowly walked to the water. Helblindi looked a little frightened but his excitement seemed to override it. Morgan rushed to grab his hand and led him into the water. “We gotta jump.”

As the waves rushed towards the shore, Morgan demonstrated the proper way of jumping the waves. She instructed Býleistr as well and it suddenly hit Loki that, to Morgan, their royal titles meant nothing. He’d known that for a while but it floored him once again. As far as she was concerned they were all just family. She had easily accepted the Jötnar as her cousins when the relationship between them was explained to her. She liked the fact that she now had cousins and one of them was, in a sense, closer to her age. He saw her easy attitude had eased some of the tension the brother’s had had. The summit was stressing them all out and this bit of recreation was a much-needed reprieve.

“Just so you know, this is salt water so if you should get any into your mouth, it’s going to taste awful,” Loki explained to Býleistr and Helblindi. The first time a wave caught Helblindi unawares and he ended up with salt water in his mouth, the boy sputtered and hurriedly tried to get the taste out of his mouth. Býleistr, being a supportive big brother, laughed at him. Thor helped Helblindi dunk his brother afterwards.

They splashed around in the water; Tony tried and failed to win a splash fight with Thor. He ended up being tossed into the ocean again. _No one_ dared to try splashing Frigga and Pepper. No one except for Morgan that was. She even ran up to Odin, soaking wet, and threw herself against him, laughing the entire time.

Sometime later, after fingers and toes had become pruney, Loki led Býleistr and the children over to the boulders that protruded from the sand. Helblindi found it amazing that the water trapped by the rocks was much warmer than the ocean water was. Even more fascinating were the barnacles attached to the rocks and the tiny sea snails.

“The shells are alive!” Helblindi exclaimed when many of the tiny shells slowly moved across the rock.

“The barnacles are too,” Loki told him, “though they move much slower than the snails.”

They stayed among the boulders for a while, looking at the different snails and colleting seashells and various rocks. They went swimming again for a little bit but finally decided to leave once the tide started to come back in.

It was late by the time they returned to the quinjet to make their way back to New York. Morgan yawned and Loki found himself playing the role of her personal chauffeur. Over the course of the trip, and more tired and cranky she became, Morgan was less enthusiastic about _anyone_ taking her Ki’s attention away from her. She sat in his lap and clung to him the entire trip back.

Býleistr wrangled an exhausted Helblindi back towards the facility. The boy could hardly keep his eyes open and he yawned widely. He blinked slowly once they were inside.

“Thank you for today,” Býleistr said. “It was an experience I’m sure we will never forget.”

“You’re welcome,” Tony replied. “Once the summit is over and things settle down you guys are welcome to visit other places with us too. Morgan had fun playing with Helblindi, didn’t you?”

Morgan nodded against Loki’s shoulder.

“You need a quick bath,” Pepper said, “then it’s time for bed.”

Morgan held tighter to him. “I ‘anna s’ay with Ki.”

“I know you do but Loki needs to take a bath too and he has a busy day tomorrow. It’s past his bed time too.”

“Are you staying at the compound tonight?” Thor asked.

“Beats driving back to the cabin just to turn around and come right back here,” replied Tony.

“How about this,” Loki said, coaxing Morgan to sit up, “while you take your bath, I’ll take mine and I’ll pick up Jack afterwards then you can come and stay with me until you fall asleep.”

Morgan blinked heavy eyes at him. “Okay,” she conceded and allowed herself to be transferred to her mother’s arms.

As they came to the point where they would part ways for the night, Helblindi suddenly hugged Loki. “Thank you cousin for showing me everything you did.”

Loki stiffened involuntarily, shock and fear suddenly making his heart race, but relaxed when his skin didn’t start turning blue. Bestla had removed the spell to alter their form on the return back from the beach and it surprised Loki that until that moment, he hadn’t thought about avoiding any skin to skin contact with them.

He forced himself to relax and tentatively returned the hug. “You’re welcome. You should thank Thor and Tony as well. This whole day was, apparently, their idea.” Loki couldn’t help but smirk when Helblindi hugged the two men as well, lifting them completely off the ground as he did.

Once inside his room, Loki quickly showered then went to retrieve Jack. He’d sent a simulacrum to check on the kitten throughout the day but that didn’t make the kitten’s happiness at seeing him any less. Jack always knew when it was really him or an illusion. Loki spent his time waiting for Morgan to show petting Jack, who lay on his chest and purred. Jack even made a few sleepy biscuits against his shirt and Loki planted a kiss on his tiny, black furred head.

Morgan’s bath had revitalized the child and she rushed into his room but her second wind didn’t last long and soon she was fast asleep. Loki didn’t bother taking her to her parents, they’d all known she was going to spend the night in Loki’s room. Loki, very carefully, maneuvered Jack onto the top of his pillow before settling down and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forbes Seaford Restaurant & Take Out and Billy’s Chowder House are real restaurants at Wells Beach, Maine. The sea snails I’m talking about are the common periwinkle.
> 
> I imagine Bestla aged elegantly. 
> 
> I have a bit of a head cannon for the cause of Loki’s skin involuntarily changing to his Jötunn form and why it didn't when Helblindi hugged him. The first time his skin changed, that particular Jötunn was attacking him and trying to freeze him so Loki’s body changed to protect itself. Helblindi wasn't attacking Loki so there was no reason for his body to adapt to the touch.


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan asks questions and Ross is a dick (and that's being nice).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to tag "mentions of suicide" just in case. Don't worry, Loki is _not_ suicidal. It's been mentioned previously and it came to my attention how suicides are up recently and I just wanted to give fair warning. 
> 
> Has anyone seen the word count for this series? We've finally surpassed _three hundred thousand_ words! Holy crap, I never imaged it would ever get this long.
> 
> Trying to explain adoption to a four-year-old is a pain!
> 
> More notes at the end because I don't want to spoil anything.

**_Three_ **

Loki rolled over and ended up with a face full of fur. A paw pushed at his nose and he went to blindly reach up to move Jack when he heard, “Jack, don’t wake Ki.”

Morgan had whispered and he felt her pick up Jack, who meowed. Morgan shushed him. “Ki needs sleep. Mommy said he’s been working really, really hard. I hope it all gets done soon. I don’t like Ki being all busy all the time.”

Loki very slowly cracked an eye open and saw that Morgan had Jack sitting on her stomach while she pet him. Loki reached a hand up and planted it on her face.

Morgan shook her head and he removed his hand, opening his eyes fully. Morning light filtered into the room. “Good morning sweetheart. How long have you been awake?”

Morgan shrugged and settled further back against her pillow. “I woke up to go potty and then Jack tried to sit on your face.”

She must not have been up for very long then. He checked the time and nearly groaned. He did not want to go back to another day of endless arguing nor another day with Ross taking pot shots at him. He still had some time though before he had to be a prince and chancellor again.

Jack left Morgan’s stomach and plopped himself down in the crook between her and Loki and started to groom himself.

“Really Jack?” Loki asked, tapping a finger on the kitten’s forehead. “You did that on purpose.” Jack meowed in response.

Loki pulled the blanket up and let it fall to cover Jack. The kitten made a noise of displeasure and crawled out from under them. Loki had the distinct impression Jack was glaring at him.

Jack seemed to forgive him when he began to scratch along his neck. “Is Uncle Happy going to pick you up today?” he asked Morgan.

Morgan shrugged. “I don’t know. I wanna stay here so I can see everyone when you get done today.”

“I’d like that too but I think you might get bored if you stayed here”

“I can play with Jack.” She rolled onto her side so she could pet Jack too. The kitten soaked up the attention. “Ki,” Morgan asked, “Why don’t Bindi and Bý have hair when they’re blue?”

“I don’t know,” Loki replied. “Why do you ask?”

“‘Cause you have hair when you’re blue and I just wondered why. Their blue is kinda like yours and they have the lines too.” She pulled her lip between her teeth then winced when it moved her loose tooth awkwardly. “I know you hate your blue so I won’t ask no more.”

Loki sat up and drew Morgan against him. Jack crawled into his lap to avoid being squished. The kitten also seemed to wait expectantly for his answer. “I don’t…” he sighed. “My blue makes me uncomfortable and I don’t think I hate it as much as I used to but I still don’t like to be blue at all either. It’s very hard to explain because sometimes _I_ don’t really know what I’m feeling about it.

“All of the giants have lines; they let other giants know what family they come from. Býleistr and Helblindi have lines that are very, very similar and they also share some of the same lines Bestla has.”

“Because she’s their grandma?”

“Yes and she gave her lines to their mommy.”

Morgan’s brow furrowed as she thought about what he told her. “Odie said he doesn’t have any blue and Besta’s his mommy so…” she looked up at him. “Where did you get your blue Ki?”

Loki looked at his hand and took a deep breath, remembering the first time he had ever seen his skin change to Jötunn blue. His hand closed into a fist and he had to swallow back the sudden lump in his throat.

“Do you remember us telling you that I had been adopted?”

“I think so.”

“Do you remember what that means?”

Morgan shook her head, “no.”

Loki took a moment to figure out how to explain what his being adopted meant and explain it in a way she would understand. “Being adopted means that I didn’t get my mommy and daddy the same way Thor did. Thor came from Frigga’s tummy but I didn’t. I came from a different mommy’s tummy. Odin found me and brought me home. They became my mommy and daddy that way.”

“You came from a different mommy’s tummy?” Morgan asked. “But Miss Figga’s your mommy.”

“Yes she is, but I didn’t come from her tummy like Thor did.”

“Then what mommy did you come from? Do you have two mommies?”

“That’s a little difficult to answer. Technically I suppose I do have two mommies but I only think of Frigga as my mommy. The mommy who carried me in her tummy is… is the same one who carried Býleistr and Helblindi.”

He watched as confusion overcame her. “Their tummy mommy is your tummy mommy?”

Loki nodded. “By blood, they’re not my cousins, they’re my brothers.”

“But T’or’s your brother.”

“Because of the adoption. By blood, he’s my cousin and my mommy and daddy are my aunt and uncle”

He could tell by her expression that she didn’t fully understand. He may have just confused her more by trying to explain. “It doesn’t change how I see them. Thor is still my brother and my parents are my parents.”

“And Besta is still your grandma too.”

“Yes, she is.”

“Do they know?”

“How we’re related? No, their mommy gave me away before they were born. They think we’re cousins. ”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did your tummy mommy give you away?”

“She didn’t want me.”

Shock replaced confusion, as though Morgan couldn’t imagine why _anyone_ wouldn’t want Loki. “What about their daddy?”

“He didn’t want me either.” That was about the extent of _that_ he was going to explain. She didn’t need to know Laufey and Farbauti had left him to die.

“I don’t like them,” Morgan declared. She crawled into his lap, forcing Jack to move, and hugged him. “I want you Ki.” Jack nuzzled against him then hopped onto his shoulder to rub his head against Loki’s cheek.

Jack leapt back down when Loki returned Morgan’s hug and blinked the sudden tears from his eyes. “Thank you.” He pulled back, “Now, that’s enough of that. Jack is wasting away over there so let’s feed him then go look for some breakfast for ourselves.”

They left the bed, dressed, fed Jack and Loki braided Morgan’s hair when she asked. He wove strips of green and gold silk through the braid then they went looking for food. Thor was attempting to cook again though neither he nor Morgan partook of… whatever it was Thor was trying, and failing, to make.

Afterwards, and completely reluctant to do so, Loki dressed himself for battle, metaphorically speaking. He met his brother along with the rest of the summits participants in the conference room. Ross openly glared at him when he entered.

“I hope you enjoyed your outing yesterday,” Ross said as he passed. His voice lowered when he added, “Your actions have consequences, remember that.”

“What did he just say to you?” Thor asked quietly, as Loki reached his seat.

“Forget it,” Loki said. “I’d rather not start this day with a fight.”

He took his seat beside his brother and as he looked out across the table, Helblindi quickly waved at him. Loki gave a small wave in return.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Pepper said, drawing everyone’s attention. “Let’s begin.”

Things went pretty much the way Loki had expected. Neither side could truly come to a consensus with the treaty, both sides finding some sort of fault with it. At times, Loki wanted to scream and he could see the same frustrations plaguing Thor and Býleistr. Helblindi appeared bored out of his mind and Loki didn’t blame him one bit. Things didn’t take a turn until late into the afternoon.

“Before we break,” Ross said, “there is one last item I’d like to discuss.” Ross steepled his fingers and tapped them against his lips. Dropping his hands, he said, “Before this summit began, certain _stipulations_ had been put in place. Yesterday those stipulations were broken—”

“We’ve been over this Ross,” Tony said. “You don’t have the authority to make those demands and not only are Thor and Loki Avengers, they’re also legal residents of this planet, hell, this _country_.”

Ross ignored Tony and continued. “Yesterday, the leaders of both Asgard and Jötunheim left this compound together. One can only wonder what it was that was discussed ex parte.”

“None of that is your business,” Býleistr said.

“No? I have no way to be sure of that and for all I know you were plotting an invasion of this planet. It wouldn’t be the first time,” his gaze settled firmly on Loki, “would it Loki?” He didn’t give Loki a chance to respond. “Your attack on New York isn’t the first time you’ve committed cold blooded murder, is it? You murdered your father, lured him to his death as a matter of fact.”

Loki paled and he fought to keep his face from showing any emotion. “My father is very much alive. I didn’t—”

“I’m not talking about Odin,” Ross said with a wave of his hand. “Although your actions did end up killing him too, didn’t they? I’m assuming that whatever brought back your world brought Odin back as well, but that’s neither here nor there. The one I’m speaking of your biological father, Laufey.”

There was a beat of silence before the room erupted into chaos and he saw the looks of shock every Jötunn had. He knew people were yelling yet all he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears. How? How could Ross have known that? How did Ross know that he—

Loki was yanked roughly from his seat. He locked eyes with one of Býleistr’s priests only a moment before he felt his armor begin to break away. Frantic, Loki tried to pull from the giant’s grip but the priest only held tighter. He could feel his skin shifting and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“Let him go!” Thor yelled.

_Loki rushed at the creature, blade ready to strike when it grabbed his arm. He braced himself for the pain from its icy touch but instead of pain, horror coursed through him when his arm_ changed! _He and the creature stared at one another in shock at the development. Loki quickly took advantage of it, killing the creature before it could alert anyone. Its grip came free and Loki watched as his arm returned to normal. A sickening feeling of dread washed over him._ What am I? _he thought._

The giant gripped Loki’s chin in his large hand, bringing his mind back to the present. His ruby eyes scrutinized Loki’s face, “Norns, it’s true,” the giant, Loki could not recall his name, breathed. “He bears the markings of Laufey and Farbauti.”

_They know,_ Loki thought. _They know! They know!_ Spots danced across his vision and he saw no more.

* * *

“I said let him go!” Thor yelled again, putting himself between his brother and the priest and pulled Loki from the man’s grip. Loki had completely reverted to his Jötunn form and the right arm and shoulder of his armor had broken away. His eyes stared unblinking but Thor didn’t think Loki was actually seeing anything.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. tell Frigga and Odin to get here, now!” Tony yelled.

“Loki,” Thor said, gripping his brother’s face in his hands. “Loki. Loki, can you hear me?”

Little, panting breaths escaped Loki and Thor could feel his brother’s rapid heartbeat beneath his fingers. His brother was going to pass out if he didn’t calm down. He recalled the last time Loki had been lost within a flashback and it terrified Thor. Was that what this was? Was Loki caught in another flashback?

“Where the hell did you get that information?” Tony demanded of Ross.

Thor wondered the same thing and it enraged him that Ross had so brazenly revealed something about Loki that his brother had wanted remained hidden. While Thor saw no shame in Loki’s origins, it was Loki’s personal business and solely his decision if he wanted anyone to know about it.

“I have my ways,” Ross replied evenly.

“Was this Asgard’s plan?” the priest, Vörnir, demanded. “To bring us here under the pretense of ‘talks’ then flaunt this… this _runt_ before us? If you think we would ever allow that thing—”

“Be silent priest!” Bestla yelled. “Have care in how you speak for he is a Prince of Asgard _and_ Jötunhiem.”

“He is an abomination and a blight upon your house!” Vörnir retorted. “He should have been sacrificed the moment he was born. It is law!”

“A law I reversed,” Býleistr returned. “It’s barbaric and we should value all life. Did the Tørke Støv teach you nothing? Helblindi and I have always known we lost a sibling to the practice of sacrifice and I refuse to let it happen to any other family!”

“The old ways—”

“The old ways are dead! It was the ‘old ways’ that brought Jötunhiem to this point. Because you, and my parents and the so-called _elders_ can’t let go of the past. You repeat the same mistakes over and over and for what? A grudge no one even remembers the cause of?

“When we arrived here I was eager to know my Æsir family. I knew Loki to be my cousin and now I learn he is my brother and…” Býleistr’s form shook, “and I’ll have your head if you even _think_ of harming him.”

“Loki why don’t… why don’t you sit?” asked Thor. Loki didn’t even blink, ruby eyes blown wide and continuing to stare out at nothing. Thor had no idea what to do and hoped his parents arrived soon. If anyone could get through to Loki, it would be their mother.

Tony and Pepper moved over to Thor’s side, “How is he?” Pepper asked.

“He’s not responding to me,” Thor said. “I don’t think he can hear me.”

“I can’t help but wonder what the point of his act is?” Ross commented, breaking into Thor’s thoughts. “This isn’t the first time he’s faked trauma to garner sympathy.” He shot a condescending look to the Norwegian ambassador. “Last time it got him New Asgard.”

“He wasn’t _faking_ his trauma,” Tony growled.

Ross stood and practically sauntered around the table. “I’ve said before Loki isn’t to be trusted. He’s committed countless murders, either for his own gain or to save his own skin. I have to say, King Býleistr, I’m surprised at how quickly you are to come to Loki’s defense. He not only murdered your father but he also tried to destroy your world, did he not? He used a weapon of considerable power intent on mass genocide.

“Not only has Loki committed war crimes against your world and mine but he has also committed acts of treason against Asgard, hasn’t he? He usurped your own government,” Ross said to Thor, “escaped from jail, blew up Asgard and helped Thanos to—”

Ross reared back with a cry of pain, blood spurting from his newly broken nose. Pepper rubbed her now bruised knuckles, “Shut. Up.”

“Loki’s crimes are something we have never really dealt with,” Councilor Haldor said to Thor. “It’s a topic your majesty has avoided for quite some time.”

“And now is _not_ the time to discuss something that’s not even an issue,” Thor snapped.

Loki’s breathing finally began to slow but, to Thor’s horror, his eyes stared to glow too.

“Shit,” Tony cursed. Six very distinct orbs formed to swirl around Loki’s body. “You two,” Tony gestured to Ross and Haldor, “if you have _any_ survival instinct you’ll get the hell out of here.”

Ross scoffed, wiping blood from his nose. “If Loki thinks his light show scares—”

“That’s _not_ Loki.”

“What?” several confused and alarmed voices asked.

Loki’s form returned to normal although his armor remained broken. Their parents entered the conference room just as Ross was pushed past them and thrust up against the wall. His body rose, held in place by an invisible force.

“You will not speak,” Infinity said, voice echoing throughout the chamber, “especially about things you have no understanding of.”

“You see, I told you he was dan—” Ross’s voice cut off and his expression turned to one of rage when he realized his voice no longer worked.

“We said you will not speak.” Infinity stalked towards Ross. “You have done nothing but speak ill of our vessel since the beginning. We will tolerate it no longer.”

“Infinity stop,” Thor said, gripping the entity’s arm. He lowered his voice, “You aren’t helping Loki by doing this.”

“Thor’s right,” Tony said, “all you’re doing is giving Ross and others like him ammunition and… you’re kinda scaring a bunch of people.”

Tony gestured and both Thor and Infinity looked at where he pointed. The UN representatives stared with a mixture of fear and wonder. Býleistr stood in front of Helblindi who peeked out from behind his brother while Bestla simply looked pained. This was a development _none_ of them was aware of.

Thor watched several emotions play out over Infinity’s face. He still found it strange to see his brother move and know it wasn’t his brother in control. He also knew Infinity wouldn’t have surfaced without Loki’s consent, not without cause. “Can you let Loki surface?”

Infinity shook its head. “His emotions swirl like a storm. It may not be safe for him.”

Thor was sickened. He wanted to help his brother but he didn’t know what to do other than be there and supportive for him. The idea that Loki might hurt himself terrified Thor. Loki had once tried to kill himself and he feared Loki might try again. If part of the reason for Infinity surfacing was to prevent such a thing from happening, then Thor could only thank the entity.

“As much as I want to see Ross get what he deserves,” Tony said, “you kind of have to let him go.”

Infinity nodded and Ross dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Ross straightened and tried to recover as much dignity as he could. His bloodied, bruised and very _swollen_ nose only made him look pathetic.

The block on Ross’s voice had apparently been removed as well. “If that isn’t Loki then who or _what_ is it?”

“A very good question,” echoed Vörnir.

“I want a threat assessment,” Ross said. He pointed at Infinity, “He goes to the Raft, now.”

“Like hell!” Tony roared.

“Loki is already guilty of several crimes and if he’s brought _another_ weapon to this planet then there is no saving him. It’s obvious Asgard has no intention of meeting out justice.”

“You have absolutely no idea what you are dealing with,” Odin said. “The being before you makes up the very _essence_ of the universe, of reality.”

Bestla gasped, “Are you speaking of _the_ Infinity?”

“What’s the Infinity?” Býleistr asked.

“To put it simply, the essence of the Infinity Stones themselves,” replied Odin.

“The same Infinity Stones Thanos used to kill off half the universe?” Ross queried. He glared at Tony. “We were told those were destroyed, that’s why you broke the terms of the Sokovia Accords, again, to collect them from different points in time.” His eyes narrowed and he wiped blood from his nose. “New Asgard never signed the Accords.”

“No,” Thor said, “and I won’t nor will I force any of my people to do so.”

“The Accords were practically null and void after the Snap,” Tony said. “No one actually enforced them since, you know, we had more important things to worry about. They also need a serious revamp since it was _because_ of the Accords that we lost to Thanos in the first place.”

“You supported them,” Ross pointed out.

“In the beginning, yeah, _especially_ after the Ultron incident, I thought having _some_ sort of oversight was a good idea but after Thanos I took another look at things. The Accords weren’t a means of oversight, they were solely so _you_ could control us. That was _not_ what I signed up for when I signed the Accords.”

“They are still in effect and I’m done playing nice.”

“You’ve been playing nice?”

“Thor, as the sovereign leader of Asgard and New Asgard is, unfortunately, covered under diplomatic immunity. Loki, however, is not. I’ve read the reports of your little stint through time and the battle with Thanos that occurred afterwards. In both cases, Loki fought and used his powers and now you say Loki is in possession of the Stones.” He returned to the table and picked up a small manila folder. “Loki’s diplomatic immunity has been revoked and he _will_ be transferred to the Raft where he will spend what little is left of his life before his execution. He will also turn over the Infinity Stones to us.”

“Abso-fucking-loutely not.”

“Would you care if we smote him now?” asked Infinity.

“I’d say ‘be my guest’ if it wouldn’t spark an international incident.”

Even though Infinity didn’t have an iris, Thor could swear the entity was glaring at Ross. “Our physical representations were destroyed by Thanos, our power now resides _within_ Loki and we will not be taken from him.”

“There is no way in Hell Loki will be allowed to keep the Stones,” Ross growled.

“These,” Infinity gestured to the glowing orbs hovering around it, “are nothing more than a manifestation of what we were forced to be.” The orbs disappeared, “We do not need them.”

“There have been little need of the Accords as of late,” said the ambassador for the United Kingdom, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “With the reversal of the damage caused by Thanos, the aid provided by Asgard and what is left of SHIELD, many of the initial one-hundred-seventeen countries believe a reevaluation is in order.”

That seemed to have caught Ross off guard. “What?”

“It is an issue you will have to come back to,” Thor said. “I want to know how you learned what you did about my brother.”

Ross folded his arms, “As I said, I have my ways.”

“Not good enough.”

“I’m not about to tell you anything.”

The orb representing the Mind Stone reappeared and flew away from Infinity. It came to float before Ross and it began to glow more intensely. “You will tell us,” said Infinity.

Ross clenched his jaw to the point where Thor thought he could hear the man’s teeth grinding together. His eyes, however, betrayed him when the looked at something over Thor’s shoulder.

Thor followed his gaze and felt his blood begin to boil. Sparks of lightning snapped out from him and one of the nearby monitors blew.

“How many centuries have you served my House?” his father asked the focus of their gaze. Thor could clearly hear the tightly controlled rage in his father’s voice. “Yet your jealousy has made you quick to betrayal.”

“You speak of betrayal,” Councilor Haldor replied, “but I have done no such thing. If we are to build relations with Midgard then, considering the damage Loki has done here, it is only prudent to explain the full extent of his crimes against the other Realms as well. Also, given Loki is not Æsir his actions are less likely to reflect poorly upon Asgard.”

“Loki _is_ Æsir,” Frigga bellowed.

“He was also exonerated,” added Thor. “You told Ross because you’re still angry that I made Loki my chancellor and removed you from the position. You’re also still angry I named him my heir instead of following your insistence I get married and have a child.”

“Loki has no right to Asgard’s throne,” Haldor spat.

“On the contrary,” Odin said, “he has a greater claim to it than any of us.”

“You are relived of your duties,” Thor told Haldor. “Return to Asgard,” he addressed the other councilors as well, “all of you and be sure Haldor has his things removed from the palace.”

“You can’t do that!” cried Haldor.

“I am king,” Thor retorted, “I most assuredly can. I will _not_ have anyone on my council who thinks using my brother’s pain for their own benefit will be tolerated, let alone allow them to remain in their position! What you’ve done is a betrayal of _all_ of Asgard and should hostilities break out between the Realms because of it, being removed will be the _least_ of your problems.”

A sharp intake of breath had Thor spinning around just in time to see Loki frantically looking around, fear and panic clear in his shining green eyes. Their gazes locked and Thor barely had time to cry, “Wait!” before Loki disappeared in a shimmer of green.

* * *

Loki ran.

It was the only thing he could think to do. Run. Everything in him _screamed_ to get away. He hadn’t felt an urge to flee this intense since he was being hunted by Thanos and even then he’d ended up fleeing to home. Of course, at the time he’d outwardly denied that home was _home_ , yet it was all the same. Now, Loki had nowhere to go.

When Loki finally stopped to take a breath, he did not recognize his location. He had done something completely reckless, teleporting without any direction, without thought. He could have ended up trapped between the veil.

_We would not have let that happen._

Loki jumped and barely managed to keep his yelp at bay. He frantically scanned the area before it dawned on him that the voice had come from within. He had to concentrate to slow his breathing.

_Why do you run?_ Infinity asked him.

“I have to,” Loki murmured. He shivered when a cool breeze blew. The air hitting his skin reminded him of his broken armor and he used his seiðr to change into more casual clothing. Once Loki forced himself to take in his surroundings, he realized he had no idea where he was or what Realm he was even on.

_You should go back. Your family will be worried._

“No,” Loki said instantly, “I can’t go back.”

_Why not?_

“I…” how could he even begin to explain what he was feeling to Infinity, let alone why he couldn’t return. “I just can’t,” he replied weakly.

He began walking. He hoped something would become familiar and give him some idea of where he was yet the forested area gave him no clues. The weather was cool and slightly damp, sending another shiver up Loki’s spine. He manifested a cloak and wrapped it tighter around himself but it did not seem to banish the cold.

Norns how he _hated_ the cold and it only darkened his mood further the more it seemed to seep into his bones. At least it hadn’t settled in his chest which would have indicated… Loki glanced at his hands and felt relief wash over him to see they were their normal color and not blue.

Bile rose up into his throat when it hit him that everyone had _seen_. The priest, Vörnir he now recalled, had forced him to take on his Jötunn form in front of _everyone_. They knew! They _knew_ he was Jötunn, they _knew_ he was Laufey and Farbauti’s first born, they _knew_ that he was—

Loki bent over and retched, the action burning his throat and making his eyes water. What little he’d managed to eat at lunch now made a disgusting pile on the ground. He straightened when there was nothing left for him to throw up and wiped his mouth. He would need to find a stream or something so he could rinse out his mouth.

Slowly, Loki continued walking. He moved aimlessly and while he did wonder where he was, he wasn’t working too hard to figure it out. Was he still on Midgard or had he traveled to another Realm? Was he even in his own _reality?_

_You have not left your reality,_ Infinity told him. _Such an attempt would have been dangerous given your panic. We would have prevented you from breaking that barrier._

Loki stopped walking. “Are you going to force me to go back?”

Infinity sighed, _While we believe it is best that you do, we will not force you._

Relieved, Loki continued on. “Thank you,” Loki said after a moment. “I just… I need time to think and…” His vision blurred with tears. How could he even contemplate going back? The Jötnar now knew what he was and he was sure that revelation was going to create problems. It would be best if he just stayed away.

_“Wherever you go there is war, ruin and death.”_

His father’s words, spoken to him when Odin had thought, or so Loki believed at the time, Loki was beyond saving. He knew now his father had only said that for the benefit of the ones controlling Loki to make them believe his father, his _family,_ had abandoned him.

Yet, Loki couldn’t deny the truth of them. Wherever Loki was something terrible _always_ seemed to happen. It may end up taking years for tragedy to strike but it inevitably did. Loki squeezed his arms, fingernails digging through the tunic and into his flesh. He’d become complacent, he’d allowed himself to drop his guard and that _never_ should have happened. He’d allowed himself to _care_ , to make friends and… perhaps everyone would have been better off if Tony hadn’t found him floating in space. There was no chance Loki could hurt anyone if he was dead.

_You had better not—_

“I’m not!” Loki snapped, then sighed. Hel, he hadn’t even been able to do _that_ right and look at what had happened because of it. “I’m not planning on trying to commit suicide,” he said in a much calmer tone. “I don’t _want_ to die but I can’t help but wonder how things would have turned out if I had never come back.”

_We could show you but you would not like what you saw._

Yeah, Loki knew enough about that cliché to know how things would turn out and he wasn’t about to go down that road.

Instead, he continued walking and tightened his cloak around himself once again. He was cold and suddenly so very tired. He walked for some time before spotting what appeared to be an abandoned cabin. He made his way towards it and realized, by its design, he was still on Midgard. That was probably a good thing because teleporting from one realm to another with his emotions the way they were was a _very_ bad idea, especially when he was doing so essentially blind.

Loki made his way inside and, while portions of the cabin were in desperate need of repair, it was still intact enough to provide him some shelter for the time being. He found a relatively clear space to sit against one wall and adjusted his cloak to wrap around himself. Loki brought his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms them. Tears fell silently from his eyes and into the fabric but he didn’t care. He would need a plan but attempting to come up with one at the moment was impossible. He could barely think, let alone plan out his future.

Curled up on the floor of a rundown cabin and pressed against the corner of one wall, Loki finally closed his eyes and wished things could have turned out much differently than they had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Accords were not originally even going to be mentioned. Things popping up unintentionally have been happening a lot lately, haven't they?
> 
> I looked up the Sokovia Accords and it looks like they're still a thing but I can't see where they've been enforced or how they can possibly be enforced logistically. After Thanos snapped everyone out of existence was New Asgard forced to sign and comply? There's a lot that seems like things Tony would never have agreed to, like the full registration of any enhanced being and lifetime imprisonment on the Raft with no trial for someone using their powers to help someone else without authorization. I feel like those were things that were added after Tony first signed them.


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan is a genius, Odin and Bestla talk and Thor slowly loses his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Calls a staff meeting and drops a stack of paper on the table*  
> Me: So, honest question, should I even bother with a script anymore?  
> *Tony and Pepper shake their heads while Thor and Loki look at each other in confusion*  
> Thor: *leaning towards Loki* There was a script?  
> *Loki shrugs*  
> Me: *rolls eyes* Forget it. Carry on.

**_Four_ **

A storm had begun to rage outside and Thor knew it wasn’t a natural weather occurrence and instead completely due to his own raging emotions. Thunder crashed _hard_ when they all returned to the common area and saw Morgan playing with Jack. She smiled at them but to Thor, it seemed slightly forced.

“Everything all better now? You’re all done?” Morgan’s smile faded as her eyes scanned them. She frowned, “Mommy, where’s Ki?”

“He’s not here right now, sweetie,” Pepper replied.

Thunder boomed again, this time hard enough to raddle the windows. “Where’d he go? He was gonna play with me and Jack when you all got done.”

Thor exchanged pained glances with Tony and Pepper. Unfortunately, that was a question they did not have the answer to. It didn’t help that Morgan was _smart_ for a four year old and she was able to tell by their looks something bad had happened. Jack let out a sad sounding meow. Even the kitten knew something was wrong.

“Loki…”

“Loki is Farbauti’s son,” Bestla demanded. She spun to face Odin. “I told you the other night that I thought he was dead, that I searched for him and this whole time _you_ had him. You _knew_ he was alive. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“How could I have?” Odin replied. “ _I_ didn’t even know _you_ were alive.”

“You should have told us the other night!”

“Loki didn’t want anyone to know,” said Thor.

“What? Why not? I had a right to know that my daughter’s son was here!”

“Loki is _not_ Farbauti’s son!” yelled Frigga. “Loki is _my_ son!”

“Farbauti gave birth to him!”

“And she abandoned him to die!” cried Odin.

“All of you, _shut up!”_ Pepper yelled. “You biting each other’s heads off isn’t going to help us find him.”

Frigga sighed, “Let me take a look at your hand.”

It was then Thor realized Pepper had done more than just bruise it when she’d punched Ross.

“How’d you hurt your hand mommy?” Morgan asked.

“I punched an ass.”

“Mommy was awesome,” Tony said. “Pepper’s right though,” he added, addressing the others, “you guys arguing isn’t going to help.”

Thor felt a tug on his cape. “T’or, was someone mean to Ki?”

He knelt down, “Yes.”

Morgan scowled, “How?”

“They told everyone about his blue.”

Morgan gasped, “But Ki hates his blue!”

“What?” Bestla cried.

“Now really isn’t the time mormor,” Býleistr said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He turned his attention to Thor. “What about your watchman? Could he find Loki?”

Thor rose and shook his hand. “Loki is able to hide himself from Heimdall’s sight. If he doesn’t want to be found, honestly, I have no idea what to do.”

“What about Strange?” Pepper asked as Frigga tended to her wound. “He always seems to know where Loki is.”

“That would go over like a fart in church,” Tony remarked drily. “I doubt Loki would appreciate us going to Strange so that we can find him.”

“I know that but if it will help then it doesn’t matter if he likes it or not.”

“Who or what is Strange?” Býleistr asked.

“A Midgardian wizard,” Odin replied. “He and Loki don’t exactly get along.”

“I’m sure Loki can hide himself from him too,” Thor added. “He could be anywhere in the Nine by now.”

“He could be in another reality if he wanted to be,” Tony added.

Damn, Thor hadn’t even thought of that. If Loki had left this reality…

“What about Ki?” Morgan asked.

“We’re trying to figure out how to find him sweetie,” Pepper said.

Morgan rolled her eyes and let out a long-suffering groan. “No Mommy, my _other_ Ki. Ki can help us find Ki.”

Dumbfounded, they all blinked down at her. Odin was the first to recover. “Do you still have the orb?” he asked his wife.

“Yes,” Frigga replied. Having finished with Pepper’s hand, she rushed from the room and a short time later they all heard the distinct sound of the Bifröst booming.

“How did none of us think of that before?” asked Tony.

“While we wait for your mother to return,” Odin said to Thor, “we should try to come up with another plan should this not pan out.”

“You know, I wouldn’t put it past Ross to be looking too,” Tony said. “We need to find Loki before he does. I’ll pull our teams together and also have F.R.I.D.A.Y. start to scan the net for anything.”

“All right,” Thor replied. “I need to go make some phone calls.”

“What for?” his father asked.

“I’m going to make a formal complaint against Ross.”

“What good will that too?” Tony inquired from the doorway.

“Ross’s actions could have ended up sparking a war between Asgard and Jötunheim,” Pepper said, seemingly realizing Thor’s train of thought. “He and the rest of the UN delegates were only supposed to be observers. Not only could he have started a war between the two Realms, he could have ignited one that involved our world as well.”

Thor nodded, “Exactly. There is no way his superiors will tolerate that. Also, this isn’t the first time Ross has done something like this.”

Tony winced, obviously remembering the fiasco that had happened at the UN several years ago. Odin, Frigga and the others gave Thor a questioning look. “This Ross has done something like this before?” Odin asked, “What?”

Thor sighed and fell back against his seat, “Back when Loki was petitioning the UN for the land that would become New Asgard, Ross demanded proof of what Loki was saying. That while he attacked Midgard it wasn’t his choice and that he had purposefully lost to prevent further damage and loss of life. He called for testimony from Nebula and she ended up playing one of Loki’s torture sessions to the whole panel. It caused Loki to suffer a severe flashback and… the weeks following the incident were not good.”

Both his mother and father were not pleased in the least to hear about the incident. “He’s attacked Loki more than once and nothing was done about it? He should not have been allowed to do such a thing. Why was he never punished? Had I been there…” Odin snarled.

“There isn’t anything you could have done,” Thor told him. “Believe me, I wanted to take action against Ross then but Loki wouldn’t let me. He didn’t want to risk us losing any chance we had for rebuilding. Now though, Ross has gone too far.”

“Could he be arrested for treason?” asked Tony. He clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, “Please say yes, please say yes.”

“I don’t know,” answered Pepper.

“Well, if he can’t then I guess we need to figure out where we’re going to hide the body.”

“Can I help?” Morgan asked.

“In this instance,” nodded Pepper, “yes.”

* * *

Loki was unsure of how long he had slept curled up on the floor of the cabin. What he did know was he had obviously spent far too long in that position. His butt was uncomfortably numb and the muscles in his legs were cramping something terrible. Loki stretched and carefully stood up, trying to get some feeling back in his lower extremities.

He looked around the rundown cabin, taking time to actually inspect it. Loki had no plans and could think of nowhere he could go. Was there anywhere within the Nine where he wouldn’t be recognized? He could always alter his shape but that would become exhausting after a time. The only reason he could hold his Æsir form so easily was because it was a part of himself. He was, technically, biologically more Jötnar than Æsir but he’d inherited more Æsir traits. It was one small solace to the unfortunate truth of his birth.

No, he couldn’t spend the rest of his life with a shape that was not his own. Putting a glamour of his father over himself was completely different from changing his shape. His other options were limited too. He could move around consistently and hope no one ever found him, he could go to another reality, he could go back (neither option was really an option) or he could fix up the cabin and stay here. Given the condition of the cabin, he doubted anyone else had been by it for a long while.

It wouldn’t take much to make the cabin livable and he had survived worse conditions. Loki set about repairing the cabin to the best of his ability. There were some things he had no choice but to use his seiðr to fix. Using his magic potentially increased the chances of being found but he didn’t have much choice.

_There is the option you are refusing to consider,_ said Infinity.

Loki sighed as he put the finishing touches on the roof. It wasn’t perfect but it would keep him dry if it rained. “It isn’t an option.”

_Why not? Your family will search for you. They will not give up as easily as you hope they will._

“They should,” he replied stubbornly. “It will be better for everyone if I stay away. There’s no chance I can hurt them if I’m not there.”

_They will be hurt if you never return._

“Emotionally and they’ll get over it. Trust me, out of sight, out of mind. They’ll forget all about me in a week. Plus I can’t… I can’t be used if I’m not there.”

_No, they won’t and w_ _hat do you mean by ‘used’?_

“I won’t be the reason Asgard and Jötunheim go to war.”

_Is that what you fear will happen?_

“It’s inevitable now that everyone knows…”

Loki felt more than heard Infinity sigh. _Beloved, you are blaming yourself for things that have not and will not come to pass._

“Of course it will,” he replied softly. “Maybe not right away but it will.” He adjusted his position on the roof and allowed his gaze to wander out across the woods. “Everywhere I go I always bring war, ruin and death.” He let out a humorless chuckle, “I am cursed.”

_You are not cursed but you are hurting and you are not thinking clearly._

“My mind is clear,” Loki retorted as he leapt from the roof. “For the first time in a long time I’m finally seeing what my selfishness—

_Selfishness?_ Infinity interrupted, _How have you been selfish?_

“Yes, selfishness! That’s all I am, is selfish. I wa—” he clenched his fists and silently cursed the way his eyes watered. “I am selfish because I wanted to… I didn’t…” His tears spilled over and he cursed his weaknesses as well. “I took things I didn’t deserve because I didn’t want to be alone. So many have suffered and many more will suffer because I was too weak to stay away.”

_You have helped so many beloved. You do deserve everything you have gained and there is no reason for you to run. Your friends and family miss you greatly. Besides, you would stay away from your little ones?_

More tears fell at the thought of Morgan and Jack. “They’ll forget me eventually and…” he swallowed hard, “and this way they’ll be safe from me. I can’t hurt them now.” He wiped his eyes, “I have to finish fixing the cabin.”

Luckily Infinity didn’t continue to argue with him. Loki lost himself in the cabins repairs. It was fortunate that, structurally, there was little he needed to do. He would have to make sure the chimney was clear before he lit any fires. He also needed to find the nearest water source. He would need it to clean the cooking utensils he’d found in one of the broken cabinets. He would also need to create traps and… Loki looked around the single room. He might need to risk going somewhere to pick up hunting supplies. Wouldn’t do for him to starve, not that he was very hungry to begin with.

Loki spent hours working and finally collapsed onto the cot when it became too dark to continue working. He fell into a dreamless sleep, thankful for the few hours where his mind had shut off and his worries left him for a time.

* * *

Thor paced back and forth across the common area too restless to sit for any lengthy period of time. The air near sparked, not his doing, from the tension between his father and grandmother. Thor was not looking forward to their confrontation but he knew it was better that it happened sooner rather than later.

Bestla finally broke the silence, “Tell me everything.”

“After the final battle,” his father began with a sigh, “I went into the temple for a moment of peace.”

“Not to take the Casket?” Bestla asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not at first, that would happen in due course. It was too dangerous to keep it where Laufey could obtain it again.” Thor saw Býleistr nod in agreement. “I’d just lost my eye, my army was tired but victorious and I was tired of the bloodshed. I wanted a moment to collect my thoughts.

“Instead of quiet, I heard a baby’s cry. At first, I thought I was imagining it. I thought why would there be a baby on the battlefield? I thought the fatigue was playing tricks with my mind but something told me to investigate just in case.

“I went further inside and found this tiny newborn, wriggling and wailing upon the altar. Part of the umbilical was still attached and there didn’t appear to have been any effort to care for him. I picked him up and... I knew by his markings, limited that I saw him, he was Laufey’s child but none of that mattered to me. He was an innocent, left abandoned and I couldn’t just leave him there. I brought him home and Frigga and I raised him as our own.”

“To use against Laufey?”

“Even _if_ I had contemplated that course of action it would have been fruitless. Laufey and Farbauti obviously didn’t care for him seeing as they’d left him in that temple to die. You yourself said Farbauti told you nothing about him besides that he’d been born and that she’d abandoned him.

“I knew I couldn’t try placing him with a Jötunn family given the stigma against runts. I could have tried placing him with a noble family in Asgard but the thought of giving him away,” his father shook his head, “Frigga and I railed against the very idea.”

“Did you give him an Æsir appearance?” Býleistr asked.

“No, he changed on his own the moment I picked him up.”

“Why did none of you tell us?” demanded Bestla.

“Loki didn’t want anyone to know,” Thor replied.

“Why not?”

“He was afraid revealing who his birth parents were would be seen as a ploy by Asgard to take full control of Jötunheim. I suppose he was right in that assumption given what Vörnir accused us of.”

Bestla waved that reason away. “To the priests, perhaps, but we are his family. Why continue to hide it from us?”

“Why did Loki…?” Helblindi frowned. “Is that why Loki reacted the way he did when Vörnir grabbed him?”

“Why did Loki appear so frightened when he took on his natural form?” Bestla clarified.

“That _isn’t_ his natural form as far as he’s concerned,” replied Thor.

“Loki is naturally Jötunn.”

“Stop talking about Ki’s blue!” Morgan yelled. Thor glanced over to see her grasping Loki’s cape tighter around her. She scowled at them. “Ki _hates_ his blue so stop talking about it.”

The three Jötnar looked at Morgan in shock. Bestla’s expression twisted into one of anger. “What did you teach him?” she demanded of her son.

“Loki didn’t know he was Jötunn until about fifteen years ago,” Odin replied calmly.

“Why not!”

“For his own safety. He was born at the very end of the war and you know how wars turn opposing sides into each other’s demons. The Jötnar were painted as monsters just as I’m sure the Æseir were regarded in the same manner on Jötunheim. Frigga and I _never_ spoke ill of the Jötunn but we could not keep the people from doing so, not without seeming sympathetic to the Jötnar.”

Thor took a seat beside Morgan and absently scratched under Jack’s chin. “Loki didn’t take the news well. He…” Thor shook his head, recalling the look of abject despair on Loki’s face just before he let go of Gungnir. “It’s a part of himself he hates.” Thor glanced down at Morgan again then switched languages temporarily, _“He tried to kill himself after he found out.”_

“What?” Helblindi asked, “Why?”

“This really isn’t something we should be talking about right now.”

Bestla bristled but before she could speak, Býleistr said, “Now isn’t the time mormor.” His ruby gaze swiveled over to Morgan then back to her. “I feel like it’s a topic we should discuss when there isn’t a child present.” Though obviously still angry, Bestla at least let the subject drop for the moment.

“T’or,” Morgan asked, “when are we gonna go find Ki?”

Thor wrapped an arm around his niece and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Soon I hope. We just need an idea of where to look.”

“I wanna help.”

“I know you do and you can but right now, we have no place to start. You have already helped sweetheart, you gave us the idea of how to try finding him.”

Morgan’s scowl deepened and Thor hated to see that expression on her face. “I wanna do more,” she mumbled. He knew she was just as worried about Loki as he was. In his current state of mind, Loki might hurt himself and Thor had no idea how he, or any of them, would handle it if he did.

* * *

The next few days seemed to drag as they waited for Frigga to return from Asgard and more than once Thor had thought about returning just to see what the Hel was going on. He would have too, if he hadn’t been dealing with various bureaucrats. He had a meeting with the President in a few hours to go over what Ross had done. Thor had taken _extreme_ pleasure when the, now _former,_ Secretary of State had resigned. For _personal_ reasons, of course.

An investigation was being launched into Ross’s background along with his motives for potentially starting a war and Tony may or may not have leaked certain… pieces of information concerning some of Ross’s more illicit activities. It seemed that, finally, the man would soon be brought to justice.

Finally, after nearly a week of silence from Asgard and the political back and forth with various Midgardian nations, the Bifröst activated. Thor quickly made his way outside to meet them, Morgan hot on his heels.

“Ki!” Morgan yelled, running to embrace the younger Loki.

“We apologize for not coming sooner,” younger Thor said. “We were on Vanaheim working to quell a band of marauders who were attacking some of the outlying villages.”

Loki nodded, “Apparently they thought to make use of Asgard’s ‘distraction’ in helping Midgard to rebuild.”

“We had something similar happen,” Thor said, “but ours was because we couldn’t use the Bifröst for a while.”

“Can we go find Ki now?” Morgan asked. “No, wait! I have to get Jack!”

“Jack?” Loki asked.

“Loki and Morgan rescued a kitten,” Thor explained.

Younger Thor laughed while Loki’s cheeks darkened slightly. “So what happened?” Loki asked, purposefully changing the subject. “Mother didn’t give us much information other than you need help to find Loki.”

Thor motioned for them to head inside where he quickly explained the situation. By the end of it, both of the youngers were just as angry as Thor was. “That bastard had no right,” younger Thor growled.

“Neither of them did,” Thor sighed.

Morgan had disappeared during the explanation and when she came back, she had the little black kitten following her. When Jack spotted the younger Loki, the kitten scurried over and leapt right into his lap. To Thor’s surprise, Jack cocked his head at Loki, meowed questioningly, seemed to deem younger Loki worthy and began to purr like crazy.

“No, you can’t bring him home,” Younger Thor said.

“Bite your tongue,” Loki replied. He pet Jack when the kitten meowed again. “I’m not your Loki but I am going to help find him,” he told the kitten, scratching under Jack’s chin.

That seemed to satisfy Jack who stood on his hind paws to lick at the younger’s face and also rub his head against him too, marking this Loki as Jack’s as well.

“When we found Jack,” Morgan explained, “Ki made himself a kitty too so he could play with Jack. Ki’s a very cuddly kitty.”

Younger Thor smirked then let out a yelp. He reached between Loki and himself and pulled out a tiny dagger. He looked at the dagger, the space he pulled it from and over at his brother. “How did you do that?”

Loki wagged the fingers of one hand while the other continued to pet Jack. “Magic.”

Younger Thor rolled his eyes, “I don’t even know why I asked.”

While they’d talked, his mother had gone to let the others know she had returned and Thor stood when they all arrived.

A smile lit Helblindi’s face when he saw younger Loki. “You came back,” he cried happily.

“That’s not Loki,” Thor said before Helblindi could do more than enter the room. “Well it is but it isn’t.”

Helblindi’s eyes turned to him then back to the younger Thor and Loki. His head swiveled so fast it was almost comical. “Why are there two of you?” he asked Thor.

Thor could see the same question in both Bestla’s and Býleistr’s gazes.

“We’re from another reality,” Loki explained. He frowned at the Jötnar, “Who are you?”

“We’re your brothers,” Helblindi said, confused.

“That’s right,” younger Thor said, “Laufey did have two other sons, didn’t he?” Loki gave his brother a dry stare causing younger Thor to backtrack. “I don’t mean it like… I’m just going to shut up.”

“Probably safer that way,” Tony said. “Less of a chance of getting stabbed.”

“Too late,” Morgan said.

“I’m not even surprised.”

“If they’re Laufey’s sons,” Loki then gestured to Bestla, “who is she?”

“Our grandmother,” Thor replied.

“They— Wait, did you say ‘our’?”

“Yes,” Thor nodded, “she’s father’s mother.”

“It’s one thing to hear that father has Jötnar blood. It’s something else to actually see it.”

“Due to a rift in the timelines, their reality is twelve years behind ours,” Odin suddenly said, “and before you say anything mother, the me of that reality won’t know you’re alive either.”

Thor’s younger counterpart and younger Loki both turned to Thor with the same wide-eyed expression. “Yeah,” he said, “a lot’s happened since we saw each other last.”

“I’ll say,” Loki said.

“Do you have any idea where Loki may have gone to?” Pepper asked.

Loki shrugged, “From what Thor’s told us, Loki fled in a panic. I doubt he had any particular destination in mind, which means he could have initially ended up anywhere. The question is did he stay wherever it is he went to or did he go somewhere else?”

“Where would you have gone?”

“Someplace where I wouldn’t be recognized but there aren’t too many places like that left. Somewhere away from civilization where I could get any supplies I needed while also maintaining my anonymity.”

“Would you have left the Nine?” Frigga asked.

“After what happened in the Void, no,” Loki replied with a shake of his head. “If anything, I would have gone deeper within Yggdrasil’s branches.”

“If Loki disappeared into the ether, we have no way of reaching him,” Thor said.

“Finding him won’t be the issue,” Loki said. “I’ve pretty much known where he is since mother contacted us. The problem will be convincing him to come back.”

“You know where Loki is?” Býleistr asked.

Tony smacked himself in the forehead, “Infinity, duh.”

“It’s uh… very frustrated with him,” Loki said. “It doesn’t completely understand why Loki feels the need to run.”

“And you do?” Bestla inquired.

Loki shrugged, “He and I were the same person up until the timelines diverged. He understood how to help me when I felt I couldn’t come back from what Thanos did to me and turned me into. If anyone can understand what he’s feeling now, it’s me.”

“Whatever you can do to help him,” Frigga begged, “please do so.”

“I will.”

“I wanna go with you,” Morgan said. From his lap, Jack meowed.

Loki gently set the kitten aside and pulled Morgan to him. “Not this time. He isn’t ready for so many people but I promise I’ll bring you to him the moment he’s ready.”

“Jack too?”

“Jack too.”

“Thank you Ki,” she hugged him. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

Thor couldn’t help but smile at the scene. His niece was a remarkable child but she had a special way with anyone named “Loki”. It had been Morgan who had first begun to give younger Loki hope that he could be saved. She and his brother had done all they could, in their own ways, to help younger Loki. Morgan with her unwavering kindness and his brother with his understanding and Thor hoped she and younger Loki could do the same thing for his brother.

* * *

After getting the cabin repaired to the point where it was livable, Loki had collapsed upon the cot and slept. That was all he had done for the most part over the course of the past few days. The only reason he even got up to eat was due to Infinity prodding him to do so. Loki wasn’t hungry, in fact, food sat like lead in his stomach but he ate anyway for nothing more than to keep Infinity from harassing him if he didn’t.

What minimal time Loki spent awake, and not attempting to keep down what little food he ate, was spent staring blankly at either the ceiling or the wall. Loki had no energy and no motivation to even move. He would have to soon though, since what little provisions he had had finally run out.

Loki found he did not have the ambition to even bother with supplies. If he went to get things, then he did and if he didn’t, he didn’t. He had a roof over his head and four walls to keep animals from bothering him. He needed nothing more than that.

Therefore, Loki slept. He ignored his hunger pains and his thirst. To alleviate those problems would require him to move but he was just _so_ tired. Besides, with the hardships that would soon be set upon the citizens of Asgard and Jötunheim, a little discomfort was a small price to pay for his actions. How many would now die because of him? Everything his brother had worked so hard to achieve and Loki had ruined all of that in an instant. All because he couldn’t keep his skin from changing and revealing his cursed nature.

Which begged the question, why had Thor even bothered to make Loki his Chancellor anyway? He had to have known Loki would ruin it. Haldor was right in saying Loki was ill fitted for the position. How Loki had managed to rule Asgard without destroying it for as long as he had was a mystery to him.

Eyes heavy, Loki drifted off once more. He had no sense of how long he slept but his awakening this next time was different from the others. Instead of waking on his own or being prodded awake by Infinity, he felt something small walk along his side. The light weight slid down along his chest and he slowly opened his eyes when that something started to lick his nose. It took Loki a moment to register what he was seeing. “Jack?” he asked groggily.

A heavier weight settled behind him on the cot. “Morgan insisted I bring him with me.”

Loki rolled slightly and his eyes fell upon younger Loki. His confusion at the others presence must have shown on his face because the younger said, “We need to talk.”

* * *

After younger Loki had left with Jack to find Loki, Thor and Býleistr made their way to Washington, DC. for another meeting with the President. They were set to give testimony about what Ross had done, though not mentioning Loki’s origins, but that Ross seemed to have gone out of his way to try to start a war between Asgard and Jötunheim. Thor wanted answers to the former Secretary of State’s motivations and so did Býleistr. Thor also wanted more to be done with Ross than the man simply losing his job and he would do what he could to see that it happened.

Thor also wanted reassurance that there were no warrants out against Loki. Even before the Asgardian’s had arrived on Midgard, Tony and Thor had worked to prove that Loki was an unwilling participant in Thanos’s actions. Midgard’s governments had officially acquitted Loki long before he’d ever stood before the UN to petition for the land that became New Asgard. Of the few people to rail against it, Ross’s voice had been the loudest. Thor thought it partly explained why Ross had done what he did in having Nebula broadcast one of Loki’s torture sessions. Even with such evidence before his eyes, Ross had refused to acknowledge that Loki had been a _victim_ and not the instigator.

The meetings seemed to drag on forever and Thor was constantly checking his phone to see if there had been any word from either Loki. He trusted younger Loki but Thor felt completely helpless as a brother and had wanted, like everyone else, to go with younger Loki when he went to find Loki. Younger Loki had simply told them the same thing he’d told Morgan, that Loki was not ready to have that many people around. All it would do would be to cause Loki to run again.

Thor and Býleistr left their last meeting for the day and made to meet up with Bestla and Helblindi. While the other two were not there in any official capacity, Bestla being the dowager queen of Jötunheim did help to put extra weight behind Býleistr’s complaint against Ross.

A series of loud bangs along with sudden commotion in the halls had the two kings running to see what was going on. They rounded the corner to find Bestla on the ground with someone pressing a cloth to her head. Security personnel had flooded the area and smoke hung in the air. Thor coughed at the smell but was only slightly relieved to find it was not the acrid smell of things burning.

“Mormor,” Býleistr cried as he rushed for their grandmother. “What happened?” He frantically looked around. “Where’s Helblindi?”

Bestla coughed and winced when the paramedic tending to her pressed gauze against the bleeding wound to her head. “We were caught unawares,” she replied.

“Someone set off a smoke bomb,” a member of the security force explained.

“For what purpose?” Thor asked.

“That will take time to figure out,” replied a smartly dressed man with short-cropped hair. He stood far shorter than Thor but there was clearly anger in the man’s blue-gray eyes. “Everett Ross,” the man said, “no relation to Thaddeus Ross.” He turned to the paramedic, “Is she alright?”

“She will be,” the paramedic replied, “the wound is superficial but she is showing signs of a mild concussion so I would suggest she go to the hospital for a proper examination.”

“I’m fine,” Bestla said, rising to stand on shaky legs. Býleistr helped to steady her. “There was a bang and the smoke, then I felt someone strike me in the head. Helblindi,” her ruby eyes darted around, “where’s Helblindi?”

Thor looked around as well but it was obvious the boy was gone. “Perhaps he ran to look for help,” Thor suggested.

Býleistr shook his head, “He wouldn’t have left mormor.”

Thor didn’t want to even _entertain_ his next thought.

“We’re already reviewing the security footage,” Everett Ross said, “but it will take time to identify the attackers. This Helblindi, what does he look like?”

“Blue kid, about seven feet tall,” Thor said, “you can’t miss him.”

Everett Ross nodded, a serious expression on his face. “We’ll find him ma’am,” he said with conviction. He pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed a number. “This can’t be a coincidence,” he said while the phone rang. “Carter, it’s Ross. Listen, I need you to find everything you can on Thaddeus Ross.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had absolutely no intention for this to go in the direction that it has but it's already running full speed down that road so I guess we'll see where this bad boy ends up.
> 
> I feel like Loki, if _severely_ depressed would sleep a lot.


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki continues to question himself while younger Loki attempts to raise his spirits and Helblindi finds himself in a bit of a pickle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate that this is longer than I've been going between posts but I suffered some cluster headaches and I just couldn't write during those. Those things suck, just FYI.
> 
> I've been trying to avoid putting OC's as a tag but I don't think I'll be able to avoid it anymore. 
> 
> Do I know where this is going? Nope, not since the characters tore up the script. Is this going to be another 100K fic? Norns I hope not.

**_Five_ **

Although Loki had tried, not very hard really, to stay awake he’d fallen back to sleep shortly after he’d seen younger Loki. In all honesty, he thought it to have been a dream. When he awoke the next time, there was a vibration against his chest. A vibration he recognized. What he did not recognize, however, were his surroundings and his heart leapt into his throat at his unfamiliar setting.

“We’re still in the cabin,” his own voice told him. “I simply made it more livable.”

Loki sat up, his body felt so heavy and Jack laying on his chest felt as though he was lifting several tons just to move. Jack stretched and made his way onto Loki’s lap. His purring never stopped and the sound seemed to calm Loki. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I came to get you,” younger Loki replied. He brought over a glass of something and held it out to Loki. “Drink, you need it.”

“I’m fine.”

“When was the last time you did more than lay on that cot and sleep?”

Loki shrugged, unable to answer since he didn’t know. The cot wasn’t even a cot anymore but a rather comfortable bed. It called Loki back to sleep.

Younger Loki sat beside him. “You’re dehydrated, drink.”

The effort it took to bring the glass to his lips felt monumental. The water was cool going down his throat and it eased an ache he had ignored. He took a few more sips and blinked heavily. Younger Loki took the glass before it could fall from his fingers.

“That kitten has not left your side since we arrived,” younger Loki said. “Morgan wanted me to bring her with me but I told her you weren’t ready for that just yet. She misses you and so do the others. They’re worried about you. I think they’re afraid you will hurt yourself.”

He’d tried that once and it didn’t work out the way he’d hoped. He could only imagine what would happen if he should try again. Would the universe end if he did? He wasn’t about to find out.

“I could sit here and give you reason after reason why you need to go back,” younger Loki continued. “It would be a waste of time since you already know what I would say; just as I know every argument you will make for why you can’t go back.” Younger Loki smiled at him. “Saves us both a lot of time but,” the smile turned into a small frown, “everything you told me about how being Jötunn doesn’t make me a monster and that I deserve to be saved even after everything I had done… Was that all a lie?”

Loki let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “For you, no, for me…” he trailed off.

“We were the same person and we’ve both done things we regret. My attack on Midgard was much more destructive than yours was and I am, slowly, coming back from it. It is something I did, something I will always regret but… if I had to live through it again and make the same choices, I wouldn’t change my decisions. Even the people of Midgard as a whole don’t hate me. They hate what I had to do but knowing the why, they don’t hate _me_ because of it.”

Loki’s eyes closed and he felt sleep pulling at him again. Why was he so tired? He felt the younger wrap an arm around him and Loki felt himself tipping to the side and his head came to rest on the other’s shoulder before fingers began running through his hair. Between that and Jack’s purring, he was out again soon enough.

What pulled him from sleep the next time was not the feeling of paws walking across him, though he knew it had happened, but the smell of food. His stomach cramped at the very thought of it and he curled in on himself with a whine. His stomach _hurt_. How long had it been since he’d eaten? When was the last time Infinity had been able to prod him awake so that he could?

“Come on, sit up?” Loki was gently pulled upright. He felt weak as a kitten, weaker since Jack could probably beat him if he tried. A steaming mug was placed in his hands although younger Loki never let go of it either. “It’s broth, it will help.”

Loki sipped at the liquid, its taste better than he’d expected. It eased the cramp in his stomach a bit and he didn’t fear that he would throw it back up. He managed to finish half of the broth before he had to put the mug aside. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t be, I understand.”

Loki knew he did. Younger Loki hadn’t said that as a simple platitude, he truly _did_ understand.

“You know, after you and everyone else had returned to your reality, all I did for the next couple of weeks was sleep. My physical health had improved while we were at the Barton’s farm but I had not really allowed myself to process anything emotionally. I was severely depressed and I just… couldn’t.

“Mother, father and Thor never left me alone. They weren’t even annoying about it, they simply stayed by my side, sometimes not saying a word. Mother would do her weaving, father would do his paperwork,” younger Loki chuckled, “apparently I kicked a stack of very important papers off my bed one time but…” his expression shifted to fond yet confused, “he kept making me candy. It was the strangest thing.

“Now Thor, he could _not_ sit still. Of the three of them, he was the most talkative. Always asking if I needed anything, if there was anything I wanted him to do for me. Whenever I was awake, it was consistent. He finally stopped after I put a blade in his thigh.”

Loki found himself smiling. “Thor is the very definition of a mother hen, isn’t he?”

“In both realities apparently.” Younger Loki turned his head to regard Loki, “You’ve never been able to do that, have you?”

“Do what?”

“Process everything.”

Loki shrugged, “I suppose not,” he conceded. “After a while I thought it better to just ignore it than to bring it up again. Why reopen old wounds when I didn’t have to? I saw no point in bothering the others with a problem I should have dealt with already.”

Younger Loki was silent for a moment. “How can an old wound be reopened when it was never closed to begin with?” He shook his head, “From my understanding, when would you have had the time _to_ deal with it?”

Loki was much too tired for such a conversation. He doubted he would be ready for that particular discussion even if he were wide-awake.

“You’ve helped me so much,” the younger continued, “let me help you now.”

Loki’s lips parted, words of polite refusal dancing on the tip of his tongue only to die before they were ever given voice. He closed his mouth and stared down at his hands. “How bad is it?” he finally ventured.

“What?”

“The fallout? The Jötnar can’t be happy to know I exist.”

Younger Loki was silent for a moment. “The priests aren’t,” he conceded, “but Laufey’s sons and apparently your, our, grandmother are unhappy for a different reason. Ross had no right to reveal your heritage to them. Haldor had to right to tell Ross in the first place. He’s lost his place on the Council, by the way. Thor stripped him of his titles. As for Ross, he’s lost his job too. Thor and, Býleistr is it, filed a complaint against Ross with the UN and the US government.”

Shock filled Loki. “They did _what_?”

“Oh please,” younger Loki said with a wave of his hand, “they both deserve far worse than that. There’s nothing wrong with having been born Jötunn, I’m gradually coming to accept that but it doesn’t mean it gives anyone the right to broadcast it to all and sundry. He practically stripped you naked and paraded you about when he did that.”

“I think I would have rather have been naked.”

“Your Tony might not have appreciated it.”

Loki turned his head to look at his younger, “Tony?”

Younger Loki nodded, “Yes. ‘Stark’ only lasted a few hours. He threatened to shoot me if I kept calling him that.”

“And you reciprocated with a threat of stabbing?”

“Oh no, even better, remember when you were telling me about your reality while I was healing?” Younger Loki grinned, “I threatened Tony that I’d plan his wedding.”

Loki felt his own smile form. He could easily imagine how younger Loki could annoy his Tony with wedding plans. “Full Asgardian traditions?”

“Of course.”

“And Tony in the dress.”

“Absolutely.”

Loki didn’t even bother to fight the smile that formed since it was a scene he could easily picture especially because well… Tony _still_ refused to acknowledge _that_ had happened. It’s why Loki had pictures of the occasion hidden in several places.

Neither of them spoke for a long while with the only sound being Jack’s consistent purring. Jack had meowed until Loki had adjusted his position to allow the kitten the ability to curl up on his lap. Jack started up at him and Loki could see unwavering trust in his big green eyes.

“Even though I know you know this, I’m going to say it aloud anyway since you need to hear it again,” younger Loki said seriously. He rose from the bed and knelt in front of Loki, placing his hands on Loki’s knees. “Being Jötunn doesn’t define you and you can no more control your heritage than can control where, when or _who_ you were born to.

“You were lucky, you could have died on that altar but instead you were found and brought into a family who loves you. Mother and father made a choice to keep you and claim you as your own. I know it hurts, even now, to know you were lied to about your origins for so long but you also understand _why_ they made that choice. We both know that even if they had been the ones to reveal the secret, at any age, you wouldn’t have taken it well.

“Have they or anyone who _matters_ treated you differently since you learned the truth? Have they forced you to embrace something they know makes you feel uncomfortable? Have they ever called you ‘monster’ and I’m not talking about anything to do with what Thanos forced you to do?”

Loki knew the answer just as younger Loki did. Not once had his family treated him any different. Thor had been more supportive than Loki had ever expected and he didn’t treat or introduce Loki as his “Jötunn” brother. Instead, Loki had simply remained Thor’s brother. Thor had gone out of his way to be supportive of Loki in any way he needed.

Loki swallowed, “I…”

“I know. You’re cursed. You’re a monster who only brings destruction, ruin and death. Because of you, people suffer and you’d rather push people away, make them think you’re arrogant and cruel, that way they won’t try to get close and when they inevitably abandon you, it won’t hurt as much because they didn’t care to begin with.”

Loki felt wetness run down his cheeks. “I hate you,” he said but his words rang hollow even to his ears.

Jack meowed and sat up. He stood on his hind paws so that he could rub his head against Loki’s cheeks and so that he could lick away his tears. Loki’s shoulders shook as he tried in vain to keep himself from breaking down further but it ended up being all for naught. Loki cried out everything he had been unable to do before.

Younger Loki retook his place on the bed and pulled Loki into his arms. Great heaving sobs wracked Loki’s frame and as much as he wanted to be ashamed of his behavior he knew there was no point because, of everyone in their reality, younger Loki was the only one who truly understood what he was feeling. Yet, even as he cried out all of his repressed emotions, the sadness, the anger and hatred towards himself, Loki felt freer in that moment than he had in a long time.

* * *

Awareness returned to Helblindi in the form of a blinding headache and a loud, repeating, _whump, whump, whump_ that only made it worse. He lay on something hard with little raised pieces that bit into his skin and he tried to make sense of what had happened. His body ached, especially his neck where something had pierced it. He recalled the loud bang, smoke and sharp pain as he’d been stabbed with something. After that, there was nothing but darkness.

He recalled his mormor’s cry of panic and Helblindi shot up, only to hit his head against the roof of wherever he was. As he tried to let out a cry of pain the action had induced, he realized he couldn’t move his mouth. When he reached up to see what held his mouth closed, he found his hands to be bound as well.

Helblindi forced himself to open his eyes. His heart sped up when he spotted the metal bars of a cage, one that was far too small to hold him. He was forced to lay curled up and that only made his muscles cramp uncomfortably. He didn’t recognize his surroundings at all.

“Don’t bother trying to break the cuffs or the cage,” Ross said. “They’re graded to withstand temperatures near absolute zero so, even if you were able to make use of your ice powers, they won’t break. So just sit there and be a good little monster until we arrive.”

With no other choice, he lay down on the floor of the cage. Even though his hands were bound together, Helblindi was able to prod at his neck. He winced when his fingers found the welt left behind by whatever had punctured his skin. He made a point of glaring at Ross the rest of the trip. He had no idea where they were going or how they were getting there but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that his brother would not stand for this. He was a Prince of Jötunheim and there would be repercussions for Ross’s actions, both against him and for what he had done to Loki.

Helblindi could do nothing more than lay there and wait. The continuous _whump, whump, whump_ , only reinforcing the ache in his head. He eventually curled up and covered his ears as best he could to try to drown out the sound. It didn’t help much.

Finally, after an indeterminate amount of time passed, the sound stopped and the craft they were in gave a slight jarring as it came to a stop. He sat up as much as possible and saw a hatch at the back lower with a whirring whine. Rain pounded against the craft and he could hear the sound of waves crashing. Were they near a beach?

Several people in uniform entered the craft and took hold of handles set along the sides of the cage, lifting it from its mount. Helblindi could do little more than slide around the floor of the cage as it was hauled out of the craft. He tried to get a glimpse of where he was but all he could make out was metal and water. They weren’t near the ocean, he realized, they were _on_ the ocean.

“Take him down to sublevel thirteen,” Ross ordered the people carrying the cage, “and initiate protocol _Noir._ ”

“A full lockdown sir?” A Midgardian man with multi-colored hair asked as he stepped alongside Ross. He wore what Helblindi had learned were called glasses on his face and his skin consisted of several designs that reminded Helblindi of heritage markings. He’d seen several Midgardians with many different designs etched into their skin. He’d never gotten the chance to ask what they meant.

“Yes,” Ross replied curtly.

“But—”

“You will do—”

Helblindi didn’t hear any more of what they said as the ones carrying his cage, and it galled him to be in a cage as though he was some kind of animal, brought him inside the structure and cutting off their words. The men continued their trek silently through the facility and Helblindi swiveled his head around trying to take in as much of it as he could. He would need to know where he was going when the time came that he broke free of his captors. He was going to _enjoy_ freezing Ross.

“Time to sleep,” someone said and Helblindi didn’t have time to do more than flinch as a puff of sweetly scented air was shot in his face. He instantly became dizzy and his eyes rolled up as consciousness left him once again.

* * *

Night had fallen and Loki felt drained, emotionally and physically, but he found sleep actually eluding him this time. He didn’t want to sleep, not like he had been. He didn’t want to continue falling into such a depression that he lost all sense of time. He knew that if he continued along the path he was on that’s what would happen. He hadn’t known more than a week had passed since he fled the Avengers facility until younger Loki told him.

He stepped out of the cabin, bare feet padding along the stone path leading away from the structure. Younger Loki had done more than simply make the inside of the cabin more comfortable, he’d completely remade the outer façade and had even done some landscaping. This place extruded a sense of calm Loki had been lacking of late. Wherever this place was, he would need to know how to find it again.

_Does this mean you are returning home?_ Infinity asked.

Loki crossed his arms and looked down at where Jack was weaving himself between Loki’s ankles. _I don’t know,_ he replied in his mind. _I know I should but I don’t know if I can._

_You would not be alone._

Loki sighed and glanced back at the cabin where younger Loki slept. _I know._

Jack meowed so Loki bent down to pick him up. Jack instantly rubbed his head against Loki’s cheek and his purring eased an anxiety Loki hadn’t even realized he still had. The kitten nuzzled his head into Loki’s neck, one paw by his shoulder and the other paw wrapped around Loki’s neck as far as he could reach. The feeling of Jack’s soft fur had Loki nuzzling back.

_He is not the only one who loves you unconditionally beloved._

Loki drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He knew that, logically, and it frightened him. To know he had people who _cared_ so much felt like a responsibility he was ill prepared to have. He had already erred in allowing it to have happened in the first place and yet… had not these last few years been the happiest he’s experienced in decades? Centuries even?

_You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be cared for. Beloved, you deserve to be_ loved.

Loki was torn, on one hand, he did _not_ want to lose everything he had gained but on the other, a part of him still felt as though he didn’t deserve such things as love and happiness. Then there was the embarrassment of his actions. Instead of keeping a cool head and playing off his transformation as his seiðr protecting him by changing his shape to match the Jötunn’s, he’d panicked and fled. He could only imagine how ashamed of him Thor and his parents were.

_We doubt they are ashamed of you._

_Would you_ please _stop reading my mind?_ Loki asked.

_We apologize beloved; we are not doing so on purpose. Your thoughts are quite loud at the moment._

Alarmed, Loki quickly checked his mental shields. Had they weakened without him realizing?

_Your shields are fine,_ Infinity said. _We are connected and we are unable to help feeling your feelings. Even though your shields are strong, due to our connection we cannot help picking up a few things here and there when your own feelings and thoughts overwhelm you so._

Well, that was somewhat of a relief. It still didn’t help with his dilemma. Should he go back? Yet, if he did he knew he could not explain away his act of cowardice. Why would anybody want to deal—

_Loki,_ stop that _right now,_ Infinity snapped. _You are not a coward nor will anyone call you such for what happened. This hatred you have for yourself needs to end. You are a good person beloved and one who has not deserved the pain you have suffered. Would that we could have prevented any of it from happening._ Infinity was silent for a moment. _Beloved,_ it continued softly, the anger in its voice vanishing, _has it occurred to you that the only one who believes you deserve to be unhappy is you?_

“After all the pain I’ve caused throughout the centuries…”

_We do not understand why you continue to find excuses for why you believe as you do. No one is perfect, not even us._

“Loki?”

Loki turned back to the cabin to see the dark silhouette of younger Loki in the doorway.

Younger Loki rubbed sleep from his eyes as he stepped closer to Loki. “What are you doing out here?” younger Loki asked.

“I didn’t want to sleep.” Loki replied.

Younger Loki was silent then his eyebrows drew together in confusion. He blinked a few times before cocking an eyebrow at Loki. Loki knew Infinity had just told younger Loki what they had spoken about. _Traitor,_ he thought.

“Come back inside,” younger Loki said.

Loki saw no reason to argue so he followed younger Loki inside. Jack had fallen asleep in Loki’s arms and he was reluctant to do anything to wake the kitten. He carefully paid Jack on the bed then made his way over to the kitchen for something to drink.

He wasn’t alone and he wasn’t sure he liked having someone around who knew his thoughts and could give voice to the arguments he was trying to avoid. “It’s late.”

“And you aren’t in the mood for an argument,” younger Loki replied, leaning against the counter. “I know, neither am I. The only thing I want to say is they’re worried about you, not ashamed. I doubt shame crossed anyone’s mind actually.”

Loki dropped his head, “You aren’t going to let me just wallow in my own self-pity, are you?”

Younger Loki flashed him a smile, “You made sure I didn’t fall so far into despair that I could never get out again. You and I, we both deserve to be happy and… if neither of us had done what we had we would both be dead now. I’m not saying it’s easy, we both know it isn’t but… What’s the point in agonizing about something you have no control over? Neither of us will ever be comfortable acknowledging our Jötunn heritage that’s for certain but we’re also Æsir so… Father and Thor both have a Jötunn heritage too and that doesn’t change who they are, does it?”

“It is much too late to have this conversation,” Loki groaned.

Younger Loki chuckled, “It’s one o’clock in the morning, of course it’s too late, or too early depending on how you want to look at it.”

“Ugh.”

“Then go to bed. I’m going to and we can keep talking about this later. Although just as a reminder, mother, father and everyone who _matters_ are not ashamed of you but if the curia regis and Ross want to use your heritage as a means of hurting you then maybe you should flaunt it just to piss them off.”

That would completely scandalize the curia regis and the rest of the nobility. Perhaps… maybe… it was something Loki would have to think about. “There is no greater enjoyment then watching someone who is trying to anger you become enraged instead when you have no reaction,” Loki agreed.

Younger Loki appeared as though he was about to add more but anything he may have said was interrupted by the first few riffs of _Immigrant Song_. It startled Loki who looked to the younger with wide eyes. “Is that my phone?”

To his further surprise, younger Loki looked sheepish. “Mother insisted I bring it with me but I made sure it couldn’t be tracked. Is that your ringtone?”

“Only when Thor’s calling.”

“Makes sense.”

“Tony set his phone to play that whenever either Thor or I call him. He thinks he’s funny.” He sighed, “You should probably answer that.”

Younger Loki picked the phone up from the counter. “Are you sure?”

“You know Thor. If you don’t he’ll just keep calling.”

Younger Loki did, “Hello.”

Loki didn’t bother paying much attention to what was being said. Instead he watched with a small smile as Jack made his way from the bed and leapt up onto the counter. The kitten looked rather disgruntled for being woken up so rudely.

“What?” Younger Loki asked, “Thor wait, I don’t… what, what _attack_?”

That drew Loki’s attention and his heart sank. Had something happened at the facility? Was everyone okay? They both seemed to have the same thought and younger Loki handed the phone over at the same moment Loki reached for it. “Thor, what’s happened?”

_“Loki?”_ The sound of Thor’s anxious voice made Loki’s heart twist. _“Brother please, you need to come home. There’s been an attack and—”_

“What do you mean ‘an attack’? Thor!”

_“We were in D.C. and someone set off a smoke bomb. Býleistr and I are fine and Bestla ended up with a mild concussion but… Helblindi’s been abducted.”_

Loki was stunned to find himself actually worried about the boy. “By who?”

Loki heard his brother draw in a large breath and the one word he said somehow managed to make Loki’s blood both freeze and boil, _“Ross.”_

* * *

Helblindi came awake to the sound of two aggravated voices, one male and one female. Actually, the more his head cleared he realized it was the woman who sounded aggravated while the man seemed to be trying to calm her down.

“What do you want me to say Sophie? Ross _owns_ us. We don’t exactly have any choice here,” the male said.

“ _That’s_ what galls me,” the woman, Sophie apparently, replied angrily. “What the hell does Ross expect me to do? I’m a _scientist_ not a butcher!”

Helblindi’s eyes snapped open and he realized several things, first he was no longer in the cage but he doubted that improved is circumstances any, instead he was strapped to a bed of some kind with binds around his hands and feet. Second, the lights were bright and what little he could see when he turned his head did nothing to improve his fortunes. There were tables and things he did not recognize but the word “butcher” made him believe that at least some of them had knives. Norns, they were going to kill him!

The woman bent over him suddenly and Helblindi would have reared back of he could. He instinctively tried to call forth his ice but, to his dismay, nothing happened.

“Oh, he’s awake,” the man said.

Sophie shot her partner a scathing look before turning her attention back to Helblindi. “Easy, easy you’re all right. I’m not going to hurt you. My name is Doctor Sophia Maynard. Now, unfortunately, I can’t remove your bindings but I can take off the gag. Will you let me do that?”

Reluctantly, Helblindi nodded. If he could speak then maybe he could get answers. He kept his eyes on her the entire time and he winced once the gag was removed. The muscles in his jaw ached from being forced closed for so long.

“Ivan, grab me a bottle of water,” she said then returned her attention to Helblindi. “I’m going to raise the chair so that you can sit up, okay.”

Again Helblindi nodded and fought not to react when what he thought was a bed moved. Once he was in a sitting position he was able to take in more of the room. It was very utilitarian and it frightened Helblindi in its blandness. “Where am I?” he asked, his voice rough.

“Welcome to the Raft,” Ivan replied. “Where everyone checks in but they don’t check out. Not in any good way, at least. ”

“Ivan, for God’s sake,” Sophia reprimand. “Please ignore him,” she said to Helblindi. “Would you like some water?”

“Please,” Helblindi said. She took the bottle and opened it then placed a straw inside and held it up to Helblindi’s lips. He drank greedily, not realizing until that moment just how thirsty he was.

When he’d had his fill, she pulled the bottle away. “I’m sorry you were brought here. You don’t deserve… whatever it is Ross wants with you.”

Ivan let out a snort, “No one does. The only reason he hasn’t had us cut up yet is because we’re ‘useful’ to him. Kind of makes me wish I’d never went into bioengineering.”

“Yet if you hadn’t—”

“Yeah, yeah, they’d have dumped my rotting carcass over the side a long time ago.”

“Are you prisoners too?” Helblindi asked. If they were then maybe they could become allies.

The two shared a look. “If only it were that easy,” Sophia said. “I wouldn’t say we are prisoners, not in the same way you are but… but we won’t ever leave this place either.”

“What does he want with me?”

“Now that’s the sixty-four thousand dollar question, isn’t it?” Ivan quipped. “Probably the same thing he wants from all of us, a way to kill things like us.”

Helblindi was confused. Were these two not Midgardian? Ivan didn’t appear different from any of the Midgardian’s he’d seen so far, although he did have far more markings on his skin than Helblindi had seen before and his hair was a wild mess of colors. Sophia to him, was exotic. He’d never seen anyone with skin as dark as hers before and its color only seemed to emphasize the rich brown of her eyes. Her hair was unique too, set in what looked to be hundreds of tiny braids which she had then tied back into one larger braid. When she pushed one of the loose braids away and behind her ear…

Helblindi gasped, “Are you an elf?” He’d heard tell of such creatures but he’d never seen one before.

She looked startled by his exclamation and she fingered the pointed tip of her ear. “I have an ancestor who was a light elf of Alfheim,” she said. “The only physical trait of that ancestry that’s passed down anymore are the pointed ears and even those have become more rounded through the generations.”

Ivan smiled at him, revealing sharp teeth. “One of my ancestors came from Jötunheim like, a thousand years ago or something. That’s the story my parents told me anyway. Someone got a little hot and heavy with a giant—”

_“Ivan!”_

“What? They were Vikings Sophie. Rape, pillage, plunder it was kinda their thing.”

Now that Ivan had mentioned it, Helblindi thought he saw a slightly blue tint to the man’s skin. It was barely noticeable and he never would have seen it if Ivan hadn’t mentioned his heritage.

Sophia covered her face with a hand. “I wish you would act your age sometimes.”

“By human standards? That would make me dead.” He shrugged, “I was born in 1743,” he explained to Helblindi, “which makes me slowly pushing three hundred. The average lifespan back when I was born wasn’t very good. If you made it to forty, you were old.” Ivan frowned, “You know, I fought in the Revolution, you’d think that would count for something.”

“I think it’s the fact you fought in the _Revolution_ that sets Ross off,” Sophie said.

“What’s the Revolution?” asked Helblindi.

“The Revolutionary War was the war of independence for the US. We broke away from Britain because they were treating us like shit,” replied Ivan.

“I need to take some blood and tissue samples,” Sophia said with a sigh and purposeful change of subject. She moved over to one of the tables and removed several items.

Though he didn’t recognize them all, the sharp one he _did._ It was smaller than any knife he’d seen before but it _was_ a knife. Helblindi tensed.

“This won’t hurt, I promise,” Sophia said. “At the most, you’ll feel a little prick. If it’s within my power, I won’t do anything to hurt you.” She paused, “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten your name.” Helblindi couldn’t take his eyes off of the knife in her hands. She set it aside and in a softer tone asked, “What’s your name?”

“Helblindi,” he replied after a moment’s consideration. “Helblindi Laufeyson.” He wasn’t sure if he could actually trust them but giving them his name wouldn’t hurt, would it? Ross already knew what it was so it wasn’t as though it was a secret or anything.

“Well Helblindi, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Shame it wasn’t under better circumstances,” Ivan said. His eyebrows drew together, “Laufeyson? Isn’t Laufey Jötunheim’s king?”

“He was,” Helblindi replied, “but he died. My brother Býleistr is king now.”

Sophia and Ivan exchanged a wide-eyed look. “Ross kidnapped a freaking _prince_ ,” exclaimed Ivan.

“Do you really think he cares?” asked Sophia. “He’s been ranting about wanting Prince Loki for ages.”

“Good point.”

Sophia let out an aggravated breath then picked up the knife and turned to Helblindi again. “I’m sorry Helblnidi,” she said. “I have to do this. If not me then Ross will just send in someone else and they won’t be gentle about taking the samples.” She explained everything she was going to do before she did it as a means of alleviating his fears. It did help and the knife did nothing more than scrape over the top of his skin. He did wince slightly when she placed the needle in his arm to draw blood. Her eyes widened in surprise, “It’s blue.”

Now it was Helblindi’s turn to be confused. “Were you expecting something different?”

“Blood around here is typically red,” Ivan explained. “Mine does this weird back and forth depending on my temperature.” He waved his hands in mock excitement. “Yay genetics but I was able hide it easily enough.” He flashed his teeth again and Helblindi saw they were no longer sharp.

“You’re a shapeshifter,” Helblindi said.

Ivan shrugged, “To a point. I can make myself look fully human which helped _a lot_ back in the day.”

“Why’s that?”

“Different is oftentimes seen as evil. When I was born, people were insanely superstitious and thought that anything they didn’t consider ‘normal’ was the work of Satan. Or witchcraft or demons or all of the above. Being born with blood red eyes didn’t help my case much.”

“But your eyes are gray.”

Between one blink and the next, Ivan’s eyes went from gray to red like the Jötnar. “My Jötunn ancestor is much closer to me in generations than Sophie’s Elf is so I have a bit more of a blend of both.”

“Do you like being Jötunn?”

Ivan shrugged. “I don’t mind it. You know, it is what it is, but it’s not like I can get rid of it. I’m able to hide it when I need to. Although it does make Halloween a blast.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“Shame, I think you’d like it but back to the Jötunn thing. Why did you ask?”

Helblindi would have shrugged if it didn’t pull at his wrists. He’d thought, briefly, that maybe Ivan could help Loki with his heritage, to show him that he could easily be both but it wasn’t his place. He wouldn’t hurt Loki. His cousin —no, brother _,_ Loki was his _brother_ — had been so nice to him and he didn’t want to do anything that would hurt him further.

“I want to go home,” he said instead.

“I’m sure you do,” Sophie said sadly, “but you can’t.” Softer, “none of us can.”

Helblindi refused to believe that. He knew Býleistr would come for him and maybe Thor and Stark and all of the others he’d met. He knew his brother and mormor wouldn’t stand for this but he hoped they wouldn’t punish all of Midgard for Ross’s actions. He tipped his head back against the chair and looked up at the bland ceiling. Was Asgard’s gatekeeper watching? Would he tell Thor and the others where he was? Helblindi hoped so because he did _not_ want to remain here much longer. He doubted that when the time came, that he would enjoy Ross’s “hospitality”.


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki returns to his family and has an epiphany. Vörnir’s priorities are skewed and Helblindi continues to "enjoy" Ross's "hospitality."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I'm such and evil, evil person. 😓
> 
> *Points to a sign* The "Murder Ross" line starts here.

**_Six_ **

After hanging up the phone, Loki knew he could no longer resist going back. It didn’t stop his sense of guilt from rearing up again. Ross had been out for _him_ , had wanted revenge against _him_ for Loki’s actions against Midgard all those years ago and now, the former general had taken Helblindi instead. If anything happened to the boy, it would be Loki’s fault.

Jack meowed and Loki winced when the kitten clawed his way up Loki’s clothing. Loki didn’t even bother to reprimand the kitten when he finally draped himself over Loki’s shoulder. He ended up taking comfort in the kitten’s presence. Even before Loki had fled, Jack had been rather clingy of late. Perhaps it hadn’t so much been that Jack was clingy but that he had sensed Loki’s own anxiety and was doing what he knew to help.

He reached up to scratch at Jack’s chin. “I suppose I have no choice now,” he said.

Younger Loki shrugged, “You still have a choice but I’m sure I already know which one you’ll make.”

Loki did too. He glanced around the cabin once more before securing Jack in his arms. Together he and younger Loki teleported back to the Avengers facility. They appeared in the common area, might as well not delay the inevitable by going to the Loki’s quarters first. Loki’s eyes were set firmly on the floor unable to meet any of their gazes.

Apparently their arrival wasn’t immediately noticed. Loki stiffened when Thor growled, “I’m going to rip his head off.”

Younger Loki had been wrong. They were angry at Loki’s actions. His act of cowardice had—

Younger Loki cleared his throat which caused Thor to spin around. “Loki!” he exclaimed.

Loki should have braced himself for Thor practically tackling him in a hug instead of Thor’s harsh words. Jack screeched when he was suddenly squished between the two. It once again made Loki glad that he’d placed spells of protection over Jack.

Thor pulled back. “Sorry Jack.” Thor shifted slightly, “Brother?”

Loki refused to meet his gaze and instead tried to placate the kitten. He had no choice but to meet his brother’s eyes when Thor tipped his head up. There was no anger in Thor’s expression, only worry and confusion. “I’m sorry,” Loki muttered. Maybe if he appeared contrite Thor wouldn’t punish him too severely for starting another war.

“What? Loki, you have no reason to be sorry.”

“But you just said…”

Thor’s eyes darted to something behind Loki then he winced. “You heard that? I wasn’t talking about you, I was speaking of Haldor.”

What could the former Chancellor have done to earn such ire from Thor? Besides giving Ross the information about Loki’s birth and informing the former general of his actions against Jötunheim all those years ago, what more was there? Younger Loki had told him that Haldor had been stripped of his titles already. Maybe Thor would have been better off not taking such actions against him.

“Your father has returned and will call— Loki!”

Loki released Jack right before his mother pulled him into an embrace. She released him then cupped his face in her hands. Her eyes darted to the side, gratitude reflecting in their cerulean depths, “Thank you.”

“It was the least I could do after everything he did for me,” younger Loki replied.

“All the same, thank you.” She turned back to him. “You’ve barely eaten, haven’t you?”

“Um…” this was honestly not how Loki had expected things to go.

“Something else has happened, hasn’t it?” asked younger Loki.

The anger from before returned to Thor. “After Haldor returned to Asgard he… brother, he told the entirety of the nobility about your birth. After you fell, father only told the council and not the rest of the curia regis.”

Loki’s head swam. If the curia regis knew it wouldn’t be long before the whole of Asgard knew. Spots danced across his vision. He would… he would have to run, there was no choice now. Asgard would demand his head, regardless of peace talks taking place between Asgard and Jötunheim. He would be branded a traitor, he would be nothing more than Laufey’s spawn, the architect of Asgard’s ruin, the…

“Loki!”

Several pairs of hands grabbed at him and when Loki’s vision cleared he saw that he was on the floor.

“What the hell did you say to him?” Tony demanded.

Oh, Tony was here? Loki glanced around and saw several other concerned faces watching him.

“I told him about Haldor.”

“Okay, _maybe_ not the best time to break that to him.” Tony’s hand on his arm didn’t feel restraining, much to Loki’s surprise. Tony gave a reassuring squeeze and shot Loki one of his serious but playing it off as no big deal smiles, “You need to breathe buddy.”

Loki drew a shaky breath but it didn’t alleviate the strange fluttering in his chest.

_“His pulse is severely elevated boss,”_ Tony’s AI said.

Oh, so that’s what that was? His heart was trying to pound its way out of his chest.

“Kind of figured that,” Tony replied. To Thor, “Let’s get him up on the couch.”

Together, Thor and Tony helped Loki from the floor and over to the couch. Loki berated himself the whole time. All he was doing right now was making himself look like a fool. He’d returned to the facility so that he could help them find and rescue Helblindi but all he’d done so far was force their attention onto him. He was _useless_ and should have stayed away.

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

“Stop apologizing,” his mother said gently.

“She’s right, this isn’t your fault.”

Býleistr’s statement surprised Loki. If any of them should be enraged at Loki, it was Býleistr. “Helblindi was abducted because of me,” Loki said.

“No, Helblindi was abducted because Ross is an ass,” Tony said heatedly.

Loki shook his head. Why were they refusing to see the truth? “Ross wants revenge against me and since…” Loki steeled himself, “since we’ve never allowed him to do so—”

“Now hold on a second—” interrupted Tony.

“You don’t even know where Helblindi is,” Loki broke in.

“We’ve already asked Heimdall,” Frigga said, “and he has located Helblindi.”

“He’s on the Raft,” Tony said. “F.R.I.D.A.Y. said it went into complete lock down last night. Ross must have taken him straight there and somehow taken full control of it.”

“What is the Raft?” younger Thor asked.

Tony sighed and rubbed his temples. “It was designed to be a prison capable of incarcerating enhanced individuals that normal prisons can’t hold. Ross has been in charge of it for years. After… well, after New York I was asked to help enhance its security and it became an official prison after the Sokovia Accords came into being.”

“You helped design this thing?”

“Don’t… don’t blame Tony,” Loki said. “It makes sense actually, to have a place to house criminals normal prisons can’t handle. We have those same kinds of cells in Asgard. _My_ cell was specifically designed for seiðr users.”

He saw his mother and brother wince at the mention of Loki’s cell. It was one of many topics they tended to avoid.

“Ross said he was trying to figure out how Ross maintained his access to the Raft,” Thor said.

“What?” asked Loki, not sure he had heard Thor correctly.

“Oh yeah, we have our own Ross,” Tony said. “I like him.”

“You mentioned something about father,” Loki asked his mother.

Frigga nodded, “Yes, he returned to Asgard to speak with the nobility. I wanted to wait until you came back before I left too. He is going to explain the situation of your adoption to the curia regis and also remind them of his own mother.”

“Which means I need to leave too,” Thor said but not without a hint of anger. It was clear returning to Asgard was the last thing Thor wanted to do. “I need to speak with them and also begin a hunt for Haldor.”

Too many things were happening and Loki feared he wouldn’t be able to keep up. “Forget about Haldor and… and my origins,” Loki said firmly. “My existential crisis isn’t important. We need to get to Helblindi before Ross does anything to him.”

“It’s not that simple brother though I wish it was. What Haldor has done by revealing who your birth parents are is potentially begin a war between Asgard and Jötunheim.”

“I have no interest in going to war,” Býleistr said.

Neither do I,” Thor agreed, “but it also throws the line of succession for both of our Realms into question. You and I have already been crowned,” he said to Býleistr, “but that doesn’t change the fact Loki, technically, is the rightful heir to both thrones.”

“I’m going to be sick,” Loki said upon hearing Thor’s words. He did _not_ need this right now. “I don’t even _want_ a throne. I never have.”

“Vörnir has demanded to return to Jötunheim. He wishes to speak with the whole of the priesthood about this.” Bestla did not look pleased. “I saw greed in his eyes. He was completely loyal to Laufey and would not have allowed you to survive. Like Laufey, he covets power and I feel he might try to use you to gain it.”

“How?” Thor asked, “You heard what he said.”

“Power,” Býleistr replied, “Vörnir sees a way to gain more power. After I took the throne, I lessened the strength of the priesthood’s influence. For centuries it was chiefly them who ran Jötunheim. They were… _persistent_ in removing any runts they found along with any threat to my father or our family’s power. Were our family to be usurped by another the priest’s would lose everything.”

“How does Loki fit into that?” younger Thor asked.

“Asgard,” Loki replied, following Býleistr’s train of thought. “He thinks that Jötunheim can somehow gain control of Asgard through me.”

“Which is something Haldor _never_ would have gone along with,” Thor said. “Not that the council has much say in the matter.” He turned to Bestla. “How did the Council of Asgard take your marriage to Bor?”

“At the time,” Bestla replied, “it was seen as a good thing. We were uniting two of the most powerful lines within the Nine.”

“How does any of this help us get Helblindi back?” Loki asked.

“It doesn’t,” Tony said, “so it’s something you’ll all have to come back to later.”

It was something Loki never wanted to think about again. “Where is the Raft?” he asked instead, bringing the topic back to Helblindi.

“In the middle of the Atlantic. It’s submersible and as a part of Ross’s lock down, it’s gone completely underwater.”

“There must be a way to gain access to it even while it’s submerged.”

“Yes but…” Tony paused and tapped his fingers against his thighs. “If we try to go in through any of those ways we’ll be spotted before we even get close. Unless… F.R.I.D.A.Y. are you still able to communicate with the Raft’s mainframe?”

_“Yes boss,”_ F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied.

A spark entered Tony’s eyes, “Then I think I have an idea.”

* * *

Helblindi found himself quickly bonding with Ivan and Sophia. Neither of the Midgardians had ever been to the realms of their ancestors and while he couldn’t tell Sophia anything about Alfheim he was able to tell Ivan about Jötunheim. He spoke of the vast fields of ice, the tall mountain peaks, the ice cliffs and the various frost beasts which roamed the world. Helblindi found comfort in speaking of his home Realm.

In return, they told him of the different portions of Midgard. It amazed Helblindi to learn that the realm had multiple different climates, from their own wintery locations to areas of vast forests, large oceans and arid deserts. He had a hard time understanding what a desert was and the _creatures!_ He had no idea so many different beings could inhabit one world.

Their descriptions of Midgard made Helblindi wish even more that things had not turned out as they had.

He wasn’t entirely sure how long it had been since he had been taken. To say the least, he was not impressed with Ross as a host. Helblindi had been mainly bound to the chair he had awoken in and on the few occasions he had been allowed to relieve himself, the shackles were returned and he was kept under heavy guard. He hadn’t even been afforded the decency of a little privacy.

Strapped once again to the chair, Helblindi scowled when Ross entered the room. The man appeared just as despicable as when Helblindi had seen him last.

“Anything?” Ross asked of the two scientists.

Sophia shrugged, picking up what Helblindi had gleaned to be a book of some kind. There were no physical pages but he’d seen both Sophia and Ivan write on it. “I’m not sure what exactly it is you’re looking for,” Sophia replied. “His DNA is remarkably similar to ours, much of the chromosomal makeup is the same. There are a few differences, notably the order in which they occur.”

“Physiologically?”

“All of the major organs are the same, albeit larger,” Ivan replied. “His blood work shows some unknown proteins which I think accounts for his magical abilities.”

“Can you harness it?”

“I am not about to turn him into one of your weapons,” Sophia said, crossing her arms stubbornly. “We all know what happened when you tried to recreate the circumstances that brought Hulk into being.”

“I don’t want to turn the creature into a weapon,” Ross replied with a wave of his hand. “I want to harness its abilities.”

“ _He_ has a name,” Ivan emphasized.

“You are a scientist Doctor Heart. You know better than to bond with a specimen. Your problem, both of you in fact, is that you are placing human connotations on something that clearly _isn’t_ human. The sooner you look at it as a creature of study the better off the both of you will be.”

“I’m not some animal,” Helblindi barked.

Ross turned his steely gaze on him. “Aren’t you? I’ve seen _nothing_ to make me believe any kind of ‘life’ beyond our planet deserves to be regarded with any type of sentience, let alone compassion. The Asgardians play at being a civilized culture but the first time Thor or Loki appeared on this planet they brought death and destruction. _Loki_ ,” Ross sneered, “was undoubtedly the worse of the two. You have no idea of the number of people he killed and his acts were more far reaching than you can imagine. It wasn’t just the people he killed in New York or Germany but the countless murders he committed by giving Thanos what he wanted. The deaths that happened after the Snap, that blood is on Loki’s hands and he _will_ be made to pay for his crimes.”

“Thor said Loki didn’t have a choice.”

Ross was clearly unimpressed with his argument. “Of course Loki had a choice but, he was weak and he broke. A _real_ soldier wouldn’t have broken under torture and would willingly forfeit his life to protect his country. Loki _chose_ to do what he did to save his own skin. First rule of being a prisoner, _never_ give the enemy what they want.”

“Then I will find great satisfaction in seeing you robbed of what it is _you_ want,” Helblindi replied. “I won’t be your tool and I _won’t_ help you hurt Loki or Thor. They have been nothing but kind to us since we arrived and, you speak of animals. _You_ , Ross, are the only beast I see in this room.”

He and Ross glared at one another in silence for a time. Eventually Ross turned to the scientists. “Prep him for the scans and doctors, remember it’s your own lives on the line if you don’t do as you’re told.”

With that, Ross left. Ivan made a gesture with one finger behind Ross’s back once the door closed behind him. “I fucking _hate_ that man,” Ivan said.

“Please don’t do anything to antagonize him,” Sophia said, rubbing the space between Ivan’s shoulders. “You know what he’s capable of.”

Ivan’s gaze met hers before flickering down to briefly glance at her stomach. A look of pain crossed his face and Helblindi could see him fighting to keep his emotions in check. “I’ll never understand how you can always keep your cool.”

“Oh, I don’t,” Sophia replied, stepping away from him, “I just don’t let Ross see the extent to which he infuriates me.”

There was something more going on between Ivan and Sophia that Helblindi hadn’t noticed before. At first he thought their comfort around each other had to do with them being colleagues and friends but now he was beginning to believe otherwise. It was something he would have to figure out another time.

“I have to put the restraints back on you, Helblindi,” Sophia said as she moved to stand beside his chair.

Helblindi was not thrilled by that. “What are these ‘scans’ Ross mentioned?” he asked.

“You don’t need to worry,” Ivan replied, “all they’re going to do is run some machines over you to take pictures of your insides. It’s completely painless.”

“I’ll be by your side the whole time,” Sophia reassured.

Helblindi found himself relaxing slightly. While he didn’t trust Ross one bit, something about Sophia and Ivan was different. They hadn’t treated him like the beast Ross claimed him to be and he knew that if it was within their power to help him, they would. Helblindi hoped that when his brother came to rescue him that they could free Ivan and Sophia as well.

* * *

Loki sat alone in his quarters, somehow managing to convince the others to give him some time to himself with the promise that he wouldn’t flee again. He needed time to think and that had ended up being his problem. He was thinking _too much._ He could not stop his thoughts from swirling around themselves. Around and around they went, moving from Ross exposing his secret, to Helblindi’s capture, to the entirety of Asgard knowing he didn’t belong, to a potential new war with Jötunheim and finally back to _how_ they would rescue Helblindi.

Realizing he was getting nowhere with his thoughts except to place himself further into a depression, he rose from his seat and wandered out into the hallways. His mind then turned its focus on recent events.

His mother had returned to Asgard to stand by his father’s side when Odin spoke before the curia regis. Thor was trying to avoid returning for as long as possible, though he wouldn’t be able to do so much longer. Younger Thor had even offered to go in his place so that Thor could stay behind. Thor had politely declined the offer, mainly because younger Thor wasn’t versed in Asgard’s current political climate.

Loki took a seat upon one of the empty benches that dotted the hallways and looked out through the floor to ceiling windows. It had started to rain again, the droplets running slowly down the glass. He found watching the water rather soothing.

Just when Loki had begun to think he could move on from everything he had done, it was once again brought to the forefront and he was forced to face his acts of evil. He wanted to be _more_ than the Loki who had brought about such anguish and destruction. He had tried so _hard_ and yet… he couldn’t help but wonder why the Void hadn’t just taken him and been done with it.

Loki leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. He needed to stop that train of thought as it only led to a dark place but he couldn’t help the doubt that plagued him.

“Prince Loki.”

Loki suppressed a groan and sat up to face the Jötunn priest, Vörnir. The priest was not someone Loki was looking forward to conversing with. He steeled himself and affected his air of prince. “Is there something I can help you with priest?”

Vörnir approached and gestured to the space beside Loki. “May I?”

Loki raised an eyebrow. Vörnir wanted to sit beside him? Given his size, that should be interesting. He nodded but, to his astonishment, Vörnir _shrank_ so that he could fit in the seat.

“Adjusting our size to accommodate our surroundings is something we are taught early in the priesthood,” Vörnir explained. “It helps when conducting politics on worlds where the inhabitants are of a smaller stature than ours.”

Why hadn’t they mentioned that before? They wouldn’t have had to renovate part of the complex before the meeting if they’d known that little fact. Also… “If you can adjust your size, then why do you hate runts so much?” Loki could have slapped himself but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“‘Hate’ isn’t quite the right word,” Vörnir replied after a moment.

Loki couldn’t help his skeptical eyebrow. “Laufey and Farbauti left me to die because I’m a runt. Your own words conveyed that same hated so forgive me if I don’t believe you.”

“It is easier to convey hated towards something you know will not survive than to allow any compassion for it to enter your heart and suffer the pain when it inevitably dies.” Vörnir said evenly. “Your parents told the priesthood of your birth although not the nature of your stature. I was the only one King Laufey confided in with the truth about you. Even I believed you perished in the temple during the battle. I cannot lie and say I was not grateful for that knowledge. Had you remained on Jötunheim, your life would have been short and full of suffering, as is the fate of all runts.”

Loki scowled, “They aren’t my parents. They may have helped give me life but they are not my parents.”

“Regardless, you are the first born of King Laufey and Queen Farbauti and therefore the true crown prince and heir to the throne of Jötunheim.”

Loki stood and moved over towards the window. “I’m not sure I understand your point. I am not your pawn and I will _not_ lay any kind of claim to Jötunheim’s throne.” He turned back to the priest. “I am Loki of _Asgard._ ”

“That may be the name you were given but it is a lie.” Vörnir stood and returned to his true stature. “You were born Loptr of Jötunheim.”

“Somehow I doubt they kept me long enough to bother naming me.”

“Your name was chosen before your birth. It is your _true_ name.”

One Loki would never use. “Why are you here?” he asked instead. “Prince Helblindi is missing and you’re here, what, deciding you don’t hate me after all.”

“You are heir to—”

“Jötunheim, I know.”

“And Asgard.”

Loki couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You think to challenge the legitimacy of Thor and Býleistr’s rules by using me?” He spread his hands with a smirk. “Fine, then I, Loptr, Crown Prince of Jötunheim, do herby forswear all claim to the throne of Jötunheim.”

Barely contained rage twisted Vörnir’s features. “You can’t do that.”

“I just did. Besides, there are greater things to worry about than a nonexistent claim. _Your_ prince is _missing_ , taken by Thaddeus Ross for what purpose, no one knows. I would _think_ your chief concern would be getting him back.”

“Prince Helblindi will be returned,” Vörnir said with conviction, “and there will be recompense for this slight Midgard has perpetuated against us.”

“It isn’t _Midgard_ that did this,” Loki retorted. “It was one man and,” he felt his eyes shift and his voice began to echo, “I will not allow Jötunheim to take revenge upon an entire world for the actions of one man.”

The priest stared at him with a look of near awe and, yes, greed as well. Loki could sense the Jötunn would be trouble. He stood his ground though; Midgard had been their sanctuary, their new home before Asgard had been restored to its rightful place among the Nine. Even now that he and Thor lived mainly in Asgard once again, Midgard still felt like home and Loki would do whatever he needed to protect it.

“Asgard has no say in the matter,” Vörnir replied. “Asgard’s previous interference in our affairs led to Jötunheim’s current state. This _peace_ that is being negotiated will not happen if Asgard tries to interfere again.”

Loki forced himself to calm and suppress the powers he gained from bonding with Infinity. He didn’t need to accidently blow up a wing of the facility because he let his temper get the better of him. “We have already offered to repay Jötunheim for the actions we took against your Realm a decade ago.”

Vörnir snorted. “I am not speaking of King Thor’s temper tantrum although that does need to be addressed at some point. What I am speaking of is Asgard’s declaration of war over a millennia ago. Asgard had no right to start a war against us over something that was of no concern to it.”

“No right… You speak of the Asgard-Jötunn War? Jötunheim _invaded_ Midgard which was under the protection of Asgard.”

Vörnir laughed. “ _Asgard_ had no care for Midgard and only claimed such when Jötunehim decided it no longer wished to be under Asgard’s thumb. Midgard belonged, no, _belongs_ to Jötunheim and Asgard’s declaration of war over a territory that did not belong to it was illegal.”

“ _Jötunheim_ planned to turn Midgard into a frozen wasteland,” Loki countered. “It was Asgard’s duty to protect the Midgardians from such a fate.”

“The only reason Odin Allfather decided that Midgard was of any value to him was when King Laufey finally made move to take what belongs to all of Jötunheim. You know as well as I that Midgard sits in the center of Yggdrasil and whosoever owns Midgard rules the Nine. It wasn’t about compassion Prince Loki, it was about power and Odin couldn’t stand to give up even a single ounce of it.”

Loki felt his anger spark again. He turned and left Vörnir standing in the hallway lest the priest stoke the fire slowly burning in Loki’s chest into a raging inferno. What made Loki even angrier was that, even though most of the priest’s words had been a lie, whether or not Vörnir believed so was moot, there were still portions which rang true.

Any and all anger he may have felt vanished when he rounded the bend in another hallway only to bump into Pepper and Morgan. His niece lit up when she saw him.

“Ki,” Morgan exclaimed excitedly, rushing forward for a hug, “you came home.”

Loki returned her hug. “I did and I hear it was your idea to have Loki come find me.”

Morgan nodded. “Yep.” Her expression turned serious, “Are you better now Ki? You’re not still sad are you?” She narrowed her eyes and scowled. “Show me who you made you sad. I’ll kick their butts.”

Loki smiled, “I don’t doubt you would but… I can’t say that I’m completely better.”

“They all talked about your blue,” she said, continuing to scowl. “You hate your blue and I told them to stop talking about it but then Miss Besta just got angry at Odie ‘cause you hate it. I don’t think I like Miss Besta anymore.”

Loki glanced up at Pepper who only shook her head. “Bestla has a reason to be angry, I suppose,” Loki said to Morgan. “When Thor and I were growing up, we were taught that the Jötunn were monsters.”

Morgan’s jaw dropped. “Your mommy and daddy taught you, you were bad?”

“No,” Loki said quickly. “No not at all. They never said anything bad about them, not like our teachers, the older warriors and our peers did. I didn’t know I was Jötunn until a few years before you were born. It… that knowledge hurt because I was afraid that everything I thought I knew about myself was a lie. I thought it made me a monster—”

“You’re not a monster,” Morgan interrupted with a stomp of her foot.

“I know that now,” Loki replied. It didn’t necessarily mean he didn’t _feel_ like one sometimes and he felt Morgan may be too young to understand that. Loki didn’t understand it himself at times, how could he expect Morgan to?

“Ki,” she asked, her scowl shifting to an expression of confusion, “why would someone say being blue makes you bad? Bindi and Bý are really nice. They don’t even look scary and you never look scary—”

Loki cocked an eyebrow, not sure if he should be insulted at his seeming inability to instill fear in others according to Morgan or not. While he _never_ wanted to do anything that would make Morgan afraid of him there were others he wouldn’t mind instilling the, to borrow a Midgardian phrase, “fear of God” into. Thaddeus Ross being one person.

“—so I don’t get why?” Morgan finished.

Loki decided to try to explain as best he could. “Such feelings are what happens after a war. For Asgard, the Jötunn became our boogeymen and on Jötunheim we were theirs.

“I don’t like my blue and I probably never will but my being blue doesn’t make me bad or a monster, it just… It’s just a part of who I am but it doesn’t have to _define_ me.” Loki furrowed his brow as something that should have occurred to him long ago _finally_ made sense.

Loki recalled his brothers words from what felt likes ages ago when he was still recovering from his Seiðr-Eyða. _“Being Jötunn will always be a part of you but it doesn’t have to define you,”_ Thor had said. _“You don’t need to be Jötunn or Æsir or any of the many other forms you are able to take. You just need to be Loki and honestly, that’s enough.”_

“It has nothing to do with _who_ I am,” Loki said with conviction, “I’m still _Loki_ and I don’t ever have to be more than that.”

“But it makes you sad.”

“Only because I let it,” Loki said. “I can’t help that it makes me sad sometimes, it’s just the way I feel. I wish it didn’t make me sad and that I could just accept it easily even though I can’t but that’s my problem sweetie. It isn’t something you should have to worry about.”

“I don’t like you sad.”

Loki picked her up and gave her another hug. “I know, I don’t like you sad either.” He pushed at the corners of her mouth, forcing her lips into an awkward smile. Loki snickered at the expression he gave her before moving his hand down to tickle at her sides. Morgan giggled. “Now, no more frowney faces, okay? I have to go find your daddy and help him come up with a crazy plan to rescue Helblindi from a real monster.”

“Can I stab the monster?”

Loki glanced over at Pepper, expecting some type of chastisement only to find an expression of fondness and pride on her face. “Maybe later,” Pepper said to her daughter. She wrapped an arm around Loki, giving him a hug. “I’m proud of you,” she said to him.

Loki felt his cheeks heating and he looked away in embarrassment. He still had a _long_ way to go to even _begin_ accepting his Jötunn heritage and there was a possibility he never would but these first few steps into not letting it _rule_ him… _That_ felt great.

* * *

Helblindi’s head hurt, the pain like nothing he’d ever felt before. It radiated from the top of his skull and down along his neck. Tears prickled along the edges of his closed eyes. What had happened? He recalled being led in chains to another room where the “scans” were to take place. Sophia and Ivan had wanted to stay with him but they had ended up being forced, quite roughly, to remain behind. Helblindi had refused to show how their separation had frightened him.

He had suddenly become tired and while he’d fought to stay awake he had inevitably lost. His fatigue hadn’t felt natural and… it had come on after an unfamiliar scientist had put something in his arm.

Helblindi moaned and discovered his hands were no longer bound when he reached up to cover his face with them. His fingers brushed against a bandage that was wrapped around his head and the back of his neck.

“He’s waking up,” he heard Ivan say.

“Helblindi?” Sophia asked. Her smaller hands gently grabbed his and kept him from exploring the bandages further. _Why_ did he have bandages? Had he been injured somehow?

“‘phia?” he whimpered, the throbbing pain along the top of his head making it hard to concentrate.

“Yes, I’m here,” she replied. There was a sadness to her voice he hadn’t heard before. There was anger hidden underneath it too and it only confused him even more. “Helblindi I… I’m so sorry.”

What was she sorry for? He managed to open his eyes and it took a moment for Sophia and Ivan’s blurry images to resolve. “Wha…”

Rage veritably radiated off Ivan. He took several deep breaths, “Ross had no right,” he muttered. Finally turning to Helblindi and forcibly relaxing his stance, he said, “They took you into surgery without our knowledge. Ross had an implant inserted at the base of your skull as a type of insurance to keep you docile. If you don’t do whatever he wants of you, he’ll activate the implant and…” he sighed, “it’s attached to your nervous system and will inflict an ungodly amount of pain but even worse, there’s a kill switch built in and if you try to escape or fight any of the personnel here Ross will activate it, releasing cyanide into your system.”

“Ivan, now may not—”

“He has a right to know Sophia.”

“What’s cyanide?” asked Helblindi.

“A very deadly, very fact acting poison and… possibly one of the worst ways to die,” Ivan replied.

Helblindi’s heart quickened. Even if Býleistr did manage to find him, if what Ivan said was true then Helblindi could _never_ escape. He would never see his home again.

“My head hurts,” he said, forcing himself to focus on something else.

Ivan and Sophia exchanged a look, both conveying expressions of extreme sadness. Sophia shook her head, “We can’t.”

“He’ll find out eventually,” Ivan replied.

There was more? What all had Ross have done to him?

“How do we even tell him?” Sophia asked. Ivan took her place and replaced her hands with his own.

Slowly, he took one of Helblinid’s hands and Helblindi was able to gently prod at the bandages that were wrapped around his head. It felt wrong, there was… Helblindi’s heart sped up again as realization dawned on him. He felt sick, horror and loss coursing through him. “M-my horns.” Helblindi shot up on the bed, heedless of the pain and pushing aside the wave of dizziness and nausea the action caused. Both hands reached up to touch his head. “My horns!” he screamed. “My horns they’re— they’re go—

_“They’re gone!_ ”


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Politics suck and Helblindi’s torment continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I want to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Unfortunately life has decided to force other things my way so updates are probably going to be every two weeks or so. Do I hate that? Yes, but it is what it is.
> 
> Another reason this was late is due to some research I had to do. More notes on that at the end.

**_Seven_ **

Loki met up with everyone once again, Morgan on his hip and Pepper at his side. The “war room” had a holographic display of what Loki believed to be the Raft floating above the table. Several other images of the interior were displayed as well. Tony moved around the hologram with an almost ‘kid in a candy store’ air about him.

“You look better,” younger Loki said upon seeing him.

“I feel better,” Loki replied. “I’ve come to a decision, I think. It will take time but… it’s something to work towards.”

He saw a tiny smile form on the younger’s face, “Good.”

Thor, by contrast, looked terrible. “I’m sorry brother.”

“It’s not your fault,” replied Loki.

“All the same.” Thor sighed. “I can’t stay here any longer. I _have_ to return to Asgard. I need to be sure the curia regis and the council don’t get any ideas.”

“We should let Val know what’s going on in case anyone thinks to convince the inhabitants of New Asgard that a new war is a good thing.”

Thor nodded in agreement. “I think those who decided to stay in New Asgard are tired of war but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”

“I can go with you if you like,” younger Loki offered. “Almost no one outside of this room knows there are currently two of us in this reality. It could show a united front.”

“Or it could be seen as ignoring Jötunheim’s current plight.”

“I can stay here to help give Jötunheim your reassurance,” younger Thor said.

“We should probably keep having the two of you here as an ace up the sleeve,” Tony said, breaking into the conversation.

“I’m not sure. Loki going to Asgard might be a good thing,” Loki said. He then relayed the conversation between him and Vörnir. Neither Thor nor Býleistr were happy with that development.

“Loptr?” younger Loki asked with a wince.

“Apparently.”

Even Morgan wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like that name.”

“Me either,” Loki replied, bopping her nose. “Where’s Jack?” He asked, suddenly realizing he hadn’t seen the kitten for a while.

Morgan leaned back in his arms, inhaled and yelled, “ _Jack!_ ”

“I could have done that,” Loki said drily. Morgan’s grin told him she knew.

Loki valiantly resisted the urge to start laughing when the distinct sound of claws on tile reached his ears. He turned his head just in time to see a little black blur dart into the room followed by… yep those were claws currently making their way up his leg.

“Hi Jack,” Morgan said.

From Loki’s shoulder, Jack responded with a high pitched, “meow.”

“Hello Jack,” Loki said. His greeting was a little tongue licking his earlobe.

“Children and small animals,” Tony snickered. “Thor, your brother is officially a Disney princess.”

“ _Now_ isn’t the time,” younger Loki said.

“Agreed,” Loki added.

“It is cute,” Pepper said, not even bothering to hide her smile.

“Just don’t break out into song right now,” Tony quipped.

“Speaking of small animals,” Loki said drily, “how would you like to become one?”

Tony shrugged and held up his hands, “My only stipulation is that I have opposable thumbs.” He wiggled said appendages for emphasis. 

“A chipmunk,” younger Loki said. Both Thor’s snickered, “Maybe even a couple of rabbits,” he added.

“With feathers and a hammer?” Morgan asked.

“A tiny axe in our Thor’s case,” Loki said.

It was obvious by their equally confused looks that neither Bestla nor Býleistr had any clue what they were talking about.

“You wouldn’t,” younger Thor said.

“Why?” Thor demanded, “ _Why_ would you ask that?”

“Well I mean,” younger Thor sputtered, “with everything that’s going on.”

Loki shared a look with younger Loki and made a tiny gesture with his hand. Younger Thor yelped, his hands reaching for his backside. His cheeks turned a bright red but he hadn’t been fast enough to cover up the bushy tail he now sported. “You were saying?” Loki asked.

“All right, I take it back,” younger Thor grumbled. “Though, could you _please?_ ” Loki gave it a moment before returning younger Thor’s form to normal. That finally managed to get Tony, Thor and Thor back on track.

Loki set Morgan down, careful not to dislodge Jack from his shoulder and turned to study the hologram. Setting all jesting aside, he asked, “Do we know where inside Helblindi is being held?”

A small section in one of the lower levels began to pulsate. “Based on what Heimdall told us, somewhere in here,” Tony said, all seriousness returning. “I don’t want F.R.I.D.A.Y. to hack the system until we’re ready.”

The door opened again to admit a man Loki did not recognize. “I have been through a veritable alphabet soup of agencies,” the man said as he made his way to the table. “The President has ordered Carrier Strike Group Seven out to the Raft’s location.”

“Is that a good idea?” asked Tony. “The Raft will be able to detect them coming.”

“Not if they initiate their cloaking devices.”

“Aircraft carriers don’t _have_ cloaking devices.”

The unknown man started at Tony. “Right,” he said with a tiny shake of his head, “you probably haven’t heard. The President reinstated Strike Group Seven as a helicarrier group. HCN-64 is its lead.”

“HCN… The USS _Constellation_?” Loki asked.

“How do… you know what,” Tony groaned, “I give up asking how you know that sh—” he caught himself, “crap.”

“Carrier 64?” younger Loki asked. “Isn’t that the one…”

Loki nodded, “The same.”

“Wasn’t it destroyed?”

“It was repaired in our reality.”

The unknown man’s gaze traveled back and forth between the two Loki’s before doing the same thing with the Thor’s. “Reality?”

“Yes,” younger Thor replied, “my brother and I are from another reality.”

Loki groaned and younger Loki covered his face with a hand. “How did we _ever_ manage to obtain the element of surprise in any of our battles with you telling everyone important information that should remain _secret?_ ” He focused on the unknown man. “And you are?”

“Everett Ross,” the man introduced himself, “and there are…” the man’s eyes darted back and forth, “actually two of you here.”

“ _You_ were the one to mention ‘reality’,” younger Thor pointed out.

“Is this really the time to be arguing about realities?” Bestla asked. She turned to Ross. “Do you have any information on my grandson?”

“I did find something,” Ross said. He held up a USB stick. “Honestly ma’am, you’re not going to like it.”

Bestla straightened her spine, “Does he still live?”

Býleistr gasped and Loki felt for him. He knew how it felt to wonder the same thing.

“From what I’ve been able to gather, Ross will have kept him alive,” he handed Tony the USB, who inserted it into a port along the table.

More images began to pop up, some of them biometric schematics and others documents labeled _TOP SECRET_ in big bold letters. What caught Loki’s attention were the phrases _Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project_ and _Extremis_ _._ There were several other “Project” titles listed but they were mostly subcategories of the _Bio-Tech_ project. He pointed them out. “What are these?”

“Top Secret government projects dating back to before World War II,” Ross explained. “They all stemmed in some way from _Project Rebirth._ ”

“What is _Project Rebirth_?”

“That’s the one that made Cap,” Tony replied, “and gave HYDRA the basis for their _Winter Soldier_ program.” His expression darkened. “ _Extremis_ was…” He pressed his lips together. “Pep,” he said to his wife, “maybe we should have Morgan take Jack and go play somewhere.”

“Good idea,” Pepper replied.

“But I wanna stay with Ki,” Morgan said, latching onto Loki’s leg.

“I know you do but daddy’s right honey,” Pepper said, “you should go play with Jack. This isn’t something you need to hear about.”

“I’ll come find you when we’re done talking,” Loki reassured her.

Morgan looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes and her mouth set in a pout, “Promise you’re not going to go away again?”

“I promise.”

Morgan appeared unsure and decidedly unhappy with the development. Loki took Jack from his shoulder though even the kitten seemed reluctant to leave. Jack let out a rather sad meow and wiggled as he was handed over to Morgan. He squirmed out of her hold and rushed back to Loki. Standing on his hind paws, he wrapped his front paws as far around Loki’s leg as he could reach. His constant meows made Loki’s chest constrict and it took everything in him not to pick Jack back up.

Loki bent down to carefully pull Jack from his leg. “The grown-ups have to talk about something really important,” Loki explained. Jack squeaked petulantly. “It’s not something you two should hear but I promise to come see you before we go rescue Helblindi.”

“Does the cat…” Ross’s voice was filled with confusion, “understand him?”

“It’s Loki so yeah, probably,” Tony replied.

Loki made a show of rolling his eyes. “Your daddy is a dork,” he told Morgan.

Instead of eliciting a giggle like such a statement normally would, Morgan only frowned deeper. It had not occurred to Loki before then how his leaving had affected her. What would have happened had he not come back? He’d foolishly thought she and everyone else would eventually write him off. Such level of caring for him was, even after all these years, not something he was entirely used to.

“Sweetheart,” Pepper said, taking her daughter by the shoulders, “Loki has promised to come see you once they’re all done talking. Has he ever lied to you?”

Morgan shook her head, “No.”

Pepper managed to wrangle Jack and cradled the kitten against her. Jack meowed again and Loki could have sworn he was frowning too. Morgan let out a heavy sigh but finally followed her mother from the room. Loki straightened and was glad when nobody commented on what had just occurred.

“So, _Extremis,_ ” Tony said. “Short version, it was a bioengineering project created by Maya Hanson. It was originally meant to help speed up the healing process, to include regenerating lost limbs.”

“That actually sounds like a good thing,” younger Loki said.

Loki agreed but he sensed a catch. By the look on the younger’s face, he did too.

“It was,” Tony agreed, “but it was acquired by a man named Aldrich Killian and he turned it into a weapon. Happy nearly died when one of Killian’s ‘subjects’ overdosed on the stuff. The man exploded creating temperatures in excess of three thousand degrees Celsius.”

“Those temperatures…” Thor trailed off.

“Yeah,” Tony sighed, “Happy survived by sheer luck. Put him into a coma for a few days.”

More had happened that much Loki could see. It was clear this was not a subject Tony liked to speak about.

“Then the bastard injected Pepper with the serum and…” Tony swallowed hard before forcing himself to calm. “Anyway, what’s Ross doing with it?”

Loki was horrified by the thought of Pepper being used in such a way. As the data continued to flow before them, the full implications of what had and could have happened to her made Loki want to resurrect this Aldrich Killian so that he could be killed again.

“Ross seems to be using the accumulated data to construct a new project. From what little the different agencies were able to piece together, he’s attempting to harness the abilities of several different enhanced people and use those abilities to either create some sort of super soldier or find a means of eliminating specific targets.”

“I’m sure I am one of Ross’s targets,” Loki said. “This is what he’s doing to Helblindi? Trying to understand his powers?”

“How did the government allow this to go on?” Thor asked.

“The Raft was supposed to be a correctional facility,” Tony added, “when did it become a giant science experiment?”

“You’d be surprised by what governments will authorize in times of war,” said Ross.

“Except we’re not in a time of war. Not like that.”

“No,” Ross agreed, “but the Snap caused a lot of things to fall to the wayside. King T’Challa announcing to the world the full scope of Wakanda’s capabilities didn’t help either. Our government wasn’t the only one to turn a blind eye to Ross’s actions. Other countries were working along the same lines.”

“Was President Hayes aware of this?” Thor asked.

Ross crossed his arms and shook his head. “Even the Joint Chief’s and the Secretary of Defense had been left in the dark. While on paper the Raft belongs to the United States, in actuality it’s owned by the UN.”

That was a surprise. “Why hide that?” Loki asked. “It’s not as though the UN doesn’t have a detention center.”

“True,” Ross said, “but even the UN was only a patsy for the true owners of the Raft.”

“Please don’t say HYDRA,” Tony groaned.

“That would have been better,” Ross said. “The World Security Council has been running the Raft since the Snap.”

Tony’s eyes bulged. “They were infiltrated and manipulated by HYDRA. How did anyone think giving the WSC that kind of power was a good idea after that?”

“That’s just it, no one _gave_ the WSC control of the Raft but when Ross became a member—”

“Wait a minute,” Tony interrupted. “Thaddeus Ross is a member of the World Security Council? Since when?”

“Officially, he’s not. _Unofficially_ he’s been a member for years.”

Tony threw his hands up, “Great, this is just great.”

“Who does this World Security Council answer to?” Bestla asked.

“What is HYDRA?” Býleistr added.

“Simple version, HYDRA is a terrorist group that has, unfortunately, been around much longer than it ever should have been. Their goal is world domination,” Tony said.

“The WSC doesn’t have oversight,” Ross said, “not in that sense. It was supposed to provide oversight of SHIELD. It works in conjunction with the UN.”

“How much authority within the WSC does Ross have?” younger Loki asked.

“Before being removed from his position as Secretary of State, the same as any of the other members have. His access to the Raft should have been revoked immediately but for some reason it wasn’t. President Hayes is beyond livid.”

“There must be consequences for abducting a prince of a foreign Realm,” younger Thor said.

Loki crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “That’s why he went after Helblindi,” Loki said as he came to an unwanted conclusion. “He couldn’t make a move against me due to the alliance between Asgard and the United States but Jötunheim isn’t recognized anywhere on this world as a sovereignty.” Guilt rose up in him again. “If we hadn’t had the summit here this wouldn’t have happened.”

“This is not your fault,” Bestla said. “Asgard was kind enough to offer introducing Jötunheim to Midgard’s different sovereignties.”

“This seems like a poor way to begin a trade agreement,” Býleistr said.

“Which is why it has been condemned at the highest levels,” Ross told them. “The international community can no longer turn a blind eye to what’s going on in the Raft. International authorities have ordered the Raft be shut down while a complete investigation is conducted.”

“What about the current inmates?” asked Tony.

“Herein lies the other problem,” Ross pointed to a string of data. “Even taking into account the reversal of the Snap, there should only be seventy-five inmates. However, if you look at the number of cells being used…”

“There are almost three hundred people being incarcerated,” younger Loki said.

“And there isn’t a single legal file on any of them.”

“Are you saying the World Security Council is imprisoning people without due process?” Tony asked, appalled.

Ross nodded, his own displeasure at the situation plain on his face. “What is worse, according to the Sokovia Accords it’s completely legal.”

Tony’s eyes bulged. “Say _what_ now? When the hell did that happen and how in God’s name was it even allowed?”

“Those are answers I don’t have but President Hayes is demanding a full investigation, to include an investigation of the World Security Council. He’s threatening to pull out of the WSO and the UN if something isn’t done. Not only is it completely illegal on its face, its against the Geneva Convention and an affront to basic human rights. From what little records we were able to obtain, crimes against humanity are being committed.”

“Except according to Ross, they aren’t human and therefore not subject to the same guidelines.”

Everett Ross shrugged, “Hence the alphabet soup of agencies I’ve been talking to.”

“Where does this leave us?” asked Býleistr. “Where do we go from here?”

“Unfortunately there is little we can do at the moment. I know you would like nothing more than to storm the Raft and rescue your brother but that would only cause more problems. To do that would, in essence, impede the investigation and potentially sever the alliance between Asgard and the rest of the world.”

“Jötunheim has no such issue,” Býleistr said.

“You do, if you want to open any kind of relations with Midgard,” Loki replied. Thaddeus Ross’s actions had set off a chain reaction of political nightmares.

“I cannot just do nothing,” Býleistr argued.

“You should return to Jötunheim for the time being,” Bestla said.

Býleistr looked at his grandmother as though she had suddenly sprouted a second head. “You expect me to _abandon_ Helblindi?”

“Not at all,” she replied calmly, stepping over to Býleistr and placing her hands on his shoulders, “but you need to show the priesthood that you are strong. If what Vörnir said to Loki is true, then he may try to convince the nobility to install Loki as Jötunheim’s king. Vörnir more than likely foolishly believes the priesthood can control Loki.”

Both Thor’s and Tony instantly snorted at that statement. “No one controls my brother,” Thor said.

“Bestla may be on to something though,” Loki said. “Thor needs to return to Asgard for much of the same thing. Now that the curia regis knows about my origins,” and didn’t _that_ still twist his stomach, “it won’t be long before the rest of the nobility does as well. Coupled with the knowledge Farbauti was Bor’s first born… the noble houses of neither Realm will be happy to learn that. Asgard will not want a Jötunn—”

“Loki!” Thor cried.

“It’s true,” Loki cut his brother off before he could continue, “and I doubt Jötunheim will want an Æsir on their throne. To Asgard, I will be a Jötunn and to Jötunheim I’ll be Æsir.”

“Loki is correct,” Býleistr said, “regardless of what Vörnir says, he will be considered Æsir among the Jötnar nobility.”

“The _people_ of Asgard know the truth,” Thor said firmly, “they will not care that you were born on Jötunheim.”

“Those who live in New Asgard may not,” Loki reluctantly agreed, “but those who did not survive Hela…”

“Your parents went back to explain your adoption, right,” Tony asked. “Maybe things won’t be as hairy as you think they will. I mean, there was already an agreement in the works for peace between your two Realms. The revelation might be a way to help bridge the gap between the people. Thor’s right though, the citizens of Asgard know you for you and they _like_ you. I know it’s hard but maybe see how things play out.”

“Continuing to stand around here speculating won’t do any good,” younger Loki said. “We can’t attempt to rescue Helblindi at the moment but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a plan. I’m sure Heimdall can keep watch over him and if it appears as though his life is in danger then we go in, regardless of the state of the investigation.”

Ross nodded, “Agreed.”

They continued speaking for a while longer and finally ended the meeting once the various plans had been worked out. It was well into the evening by the time Thor, Býleistr and the Priests finally left Midgard. Thor had promised to keep him informed of what was happening in Asgard. Loki wished he could have gone to support his brother but a part of him was glad he wouldn’t have to face the people so soon.

Loki made his way back towards his quarters. He had half a mind to collect Jack then teleport to the brownstone. A part of him wanted to just return to the cabin he’d stumbled upon but he knew if he returned there he would not want to leave. Besides, he had a promise he needed to keep.

Turning down the corridor opposite his quarters, Loki made his way towards their common area. He brought out his bag of kitten treats from his dimensional pocket and gently shook the bag. Almost instantly, the sound of claws skittering across the tile reached his ears. He tipped a few treats from the packet into his hand and knelt down. Jack slid to a halt, little green eyes scrutinizing Loki. Loki put on his most pathetic expression and held out the treats again. “Are you still upset with me?”

Jack appeared to think about it for a moment before bounding over and taking the proffered treats.

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?”

In response, Jack bumped his head against Loki’s fingers asking for pets and beginning to purr. Loki would take that for a “yes” and he was surprised by how happy that made him. Now he only needed to get himself back into Morgan’s good graces and that would be a bit harder to do since he couldn’t bribe her with kitty treats.

Loki picked Jack up and cradled him against his shoulder. Jack rubbed his head against Loki’s cheek and his purring seemed to increase. A few tiny licks against his jaw assured Loki that Jack had forgiven him for the time being.

He continued on down the corridor but he didn’t have to go far to find Pepper and Morgan heading his way. Morgan’s expression was set into a pout and Pepper simply shrugged at him when she saw him. “All done?” she asked.

“For now,” Loki replied. “We can’t go after Helblindi just yet,” he quickly explained why that was, “but we have a plan in place for when it is time to do so. Thor, Býleistr and the priests have left Midgard.”

“We saw the Bifröst. Morgan was a little worried you’d left.”

“No I wasn’t,” Morgan said, crossing her arms petulantly.

“I did say I would come see you once we were finished talking,” Loki said. He stepped closer to her and gave her the same pathetic expression he’d given Jack. “Are you still mad at me?”

Morgan sighed heavily. “I’m not mad at you Ki. I just don’t like it when you’re sad and…” her pout returned, “and I don’t want you to get so sad that you go away forever.”

Loki took her hand and led her back into the common area. Once inside he had her take a seat on the couch then sat beside her. Jack took that as his queue to curl up in his lap. “I will get sad sometimes sweetie, that’s just how life is.”

“That’s why I said they had to stop talking about your blue, because it makes you sad.”

Loki pressed his lips together. “Am I still upset because everyone knows about my blue now?” He asked after a moment. “Yes and I will be for a while. I’ve said before, I don’t like my blue and I probably never will but…”

He held up a hand and it took a _lot_ of concentration to will his Æsir form to fade. Seeing azure where porcelain once was still made his heart speed up and his fear to spike. Morgan’s eyes went wide and yet, like all of the other times she had seen this form, there was no fear in her eyes, only wonder. Jack lifted his head up and gave him a questioning look. He sniffed at Loki and, satisfied with what he found, returned to taking possession of Loki’s lap.

Loki pondered this form for a bit. “Maybe if I had known about this growing up I wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable with it.” Loki shivered from the cold that had settled in his chest.

Morgan reached up and ran a finger along one of the heritage lines on his face. He closed an eye when the line she traced ran along his eye. She scooted closer and Jack let out a disgruntled meow when he was dislodged from Loki’s lap. Morgan took Jack’s place while she continued to study and trace Loki’s lines. Morgan used her fingers to open one of his eyes wider and he had to pull his head back when his eye had been held open for too long.

Morgan’s fingers ran into his hair, her nails scratching lightly against his scalp and Loki could have fallen asleep at the feeling. “Hey Ki,” Morgan asked, to which he responded with a questioning noise, “Bý and Bindi have hornays and Miss Besta has tiny hornays in her hair. Do you have hornays like that too?”

So that’s what she was doing. “I don’t think so,” he replied. He was sure that if he did have horns growing from his head they would have formed by now.

“Oh,” she sounded almost disappointed, “that would be cool.”

Loki cracked an eye open, not quite sure when he’d closed them in the first place. “You want me to have horns growing from my head?”

She shrugged and resumed tracing the lines on his face. “Only if it didn’t make you sad, but you’ve got hornays on your crown and you made my hornays like yours so… No, I think I like the hornays you have better.” She gasped as something occurred to her. “Ki, Jack needs hornays too.”

Loki snorted at the image and glanced over to where the kitten had taken up residence on the arm of the couch. Jack was putting on as much of a regal air as he could while he groomed his front paw and obviously pretending he wasn’t upset for having been forced to vacate Loki’s lap. With a minute shake of his head, he conjured a tiny horned helm atop Jack’s head. Jack stopped grooming once the helm appeared and sat up straighter, affecting a rather haughty air about himself. Dear Norns, Jack really _was_ a cat version of Loki.

The feeling of nausea he began to feel when he’d changed his form slowly started to ebb. He returned his attention back to Morgan when she pulled at his collar to try tracing the line that ran underneath his shirt. The last time Loki or anyone else had scrutinized his heritage lines so much was when he’d had his breakdown during his recovery of Seiðr-Eyða.

Seemingly dissatisfied when his shirt didn’t stretch to her liking, Morgan grabbed the bottom of it and pulled it up.

Loki yelped, “Hey!”

Morgan shushed him, putting the fingers of one hand over his lips. Loki glanced over at Pepper, hoping to receive some help only to find her poorly attempting to hide her grin behind her hand. Turning back to Morgan, all Loki could see of her was the top of her head although he could easily picture her expression, eyes narrowed and tongue peeking out just the tiniest bit as she studied the lines on his chest and stomach. Loki jerked when her fingers moved along his sides.

Hoping she wouldn’t catch on, Loki tried rather valiantly not to react any further when her fingers tickled his stomach and sides. Her fingers finally left his sides and she touched his left pectoral, “Hey Ki, this one’s a snake.”

“It is?” he vaguely recalled Thor pointing out the same thing back when he’d been studying Loki’s heritage lines.

“Yeah,” Morgan confirmed, “and…” her hands shot forward to tickle his stomach.

Loki yelped again and scrambled to catch her hands while attempting to also pull his shirt down. Morgan playfully fought against him, sticking her head under his shirt to blow raspberries on his stomach. Loki laughed but finally managed to grab her hands. He maneuvered both of hers into one of his then pulled his shirt back down with his other hand. Breathing hard, he shifted his form back to normal. “That was playing dirty,” he said breathlessly.

Morgan grinned up at him. “It made you smile.”

“It did,” he agreed, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. He glanced over at Pepper, “Did you put her up to this?”

“Tickling you? Never,” Pepper replied. “But she did want to do something to help you feel better.”

“Did I make you happy Ki?” asked Morgan.

Loki pressed a kiss to her head. “You did.” He realized there was truth to his words. He did feel better now than he had earlier that day. “And now…” Loki smirked, “ _retaliation!_ ”

Morgan screeched with laughter when Loki turned the tables on her. After a tickle war, which almost resulted in wet pants on Morgan’s part, the two ended up on the floor absolutely exhausted. Loki threw in the towel when Jack climbed onto him, golden horns gleaming in the lamplight and planted his furry butt right under Loki’s chin.

* * *

Helblindi had tried to be strong and not show any type of weakness to the enemy but the loss of his horns had been too much for him. He had no idea how long he had cried. The physical pain of their loss was almost nonexistent but emotionally… he’d _lost_ an important part of who he was. Býleistr and mormor would be so angry at him for letting his horns be taken. He was a disgrace to the royal house of Jötunheim.

Helblindi hadn’t fought when he was taken to be outfitted with things he couldn’t identify. Small items had been attached to his fingers and around his wrists and ankles with wires of some kind connecting them all together. He wanted to flee when they put a similar wrapping around his head but he saw no reason anymore to do so.

Ever since they had taken his horns and attached the device to him he hadn’t been restrained. Sophia and Ivan had tried their best to cheer him up even given the dire situation and while he was grateful for the comfort they provided; neither of them could fully understand his loss.

Helblindi was currently being led by more guards to another part of the facility. Although Sophia had tried to stay with him, she and Ivan had been ordered to another room to “observe”. What they were supposed to watch, he had no idea.

He entered a rather large room with gray metal walls and a hard light gray floor that scrapped the bottoms of his feet slightly. To his surprise, there was someone else in the room too. The other Midgardian trembled though from what, Helblindi was unsure.

Looking around some more, he spotted a large window where he saw Ivan and Sophia staring down into the room. He wanted to smile at them to let them know he was fine but he couldn’t get himself to do so.

He turned back to the Midgardian and noticed the man was bound with chains and those chains were bolted to the floor. He wondered if this Midgardian was like Ivan and Sophia, a mixture of mortal and one of the other Realms. “Hello,” Helblindi said.

_“Do not speak to him,”_ Ross voice bellowed out from somewhere in the room. Helblindi looked back to the window and saw the man standing beside his friends. _“You are not here to speak. You’re here to demonstrate.”_

Demonstrate? Demonstrate what?

_“Your species is capable of creating ice at will. You will show those capabilities and you will demonstrate them on Prisoner-1962.”_

Helblindi stared up at the window in horror. Ross wanted him to freeze the Midgardian? That… that would kill him! Helblindi had no problem with using his powers on others were he in battle or if he needed to protect himself but to harm the Midgardian for no reason…

“No,” Helblindi said, stepping as far away from the other occupant as he could. “I will not harm him.”

_“You will do as you’re told.”_

“I _won’t_ hurt him!”

Ross muttered something that didn’t translate through wherever his voice came from. His expression darkened and it was apparent the man was not used to someone not following his commands.

“I am a Prince of Jötunheim,” Helblindi reiterated and straightened to his full height, “you have no authority over me.”

Ross scoffed, _“You act as though your title has any meaning here. I don’t care who you are, who your family is or where you came from. You and your kind are a threat to this planet, to my country, and I’ll be_ damned _if I let something like you threaten us again.”_

“You can’t make me use my powers.”

_“I may not know how to trigger them but that is what the scientists are for. I can, however, provide you some incentive to cooperate.”_

White hot pain suddenly laced through Helblindi’s body. He fell to the floor, withering from it and unable to even cry out from the force of his torment. As suddenly as it appeared, it dissipated and Helblindi was left panting.

_“If you do not do as you are told, I will turn the device back on,”_ Ross said coldly, _“put it on a higher setting and leave it on until you die from the pain. As you can now see, you do have two choices; either do as I tell you to or don’t and die an excruciatingly painful death. You seem to be a somewhat intelligent beast, take a moment and decide.”_

Slowly, Helblindi stood. His whole body ached and that hadn’t even been the full force of what the device was capable of? Helblindi did not want to die but he also did not want to harm the Midgardian either but if he didn’t do as Ross instructed then he would die and… he expected Ross would have the other man killed anyway.

Swallowing back tears, he turned back to the Midgardian. “I’m sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carrier Strike Group Seven is no longer in service but I thought that maybe the helicarriers have strike groups too and went with that. I chose the name of the helicarrier based on the aircraft carrier of the same number that is also no longer in service.
> 
> In regards to the President's name, I decided to go with something different than President Trump. I could have taken the 50-50 chance of being right since whoever wins our current election would be president at this time (2024) in the series. However if I choose President Trump having been reelected, the Trump haters would get all angry. If I'd made Biden president then his haters would be all mad and I don’t have time for the "Well why did you pick _him_ " argument. It does raise an interesting question though, since the Snap happened in 2018, what would have happened to the 2020 election?  
> Hayes is the name of the President in Stargate and I liked him.


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The curia regis assembles and Loki pokes around the Raft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I want to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Life came at me fast and hard and made the last two weeks a living Hell. My frustration and anxiety were through the roof and the circumstances made me _extremely_ homesick but things are better now and hopefully I won't have to go through something like that for a very long time. I would prefer never again but I'm not going to press my luck. 😅 Don't worry, it has nothing to do with an illness and no one died. 
> 
> By the way, I hate politics. Have I mentioned I hate politics?

**_Eight_ **

Thor wanted to be anywhere but where he was. He was even tempted to admit that he’d rather be fighting Thanos again instead of facing the curia regis. He had half expected for his father to have addressed them before he arrived but that wasn’t to be. It wasn’t just Asgard’s nobility who were present but those of Vanaheim, Alfheim and Jötunheim as well. The moment their feet had touched down in the Observatory, Býleistr and the priests had returned to Jötunheim only to return the following day, demanding to be heard as well.

Býleistr somehow managed to capture Thor’s attention long enough to request a private audience before the rest of the nobility assembled for what was definitely to be a _long_ meeting.

“I’m sorry Thor,” Býleistr said once they were alone. “The priests refuse to see reason and, unfortunately, they have a valid argument. There are many who remain loyal to me but there are others who have decided to follow Vörnir’s example. I believe he means to demand Loki be installed as Asgard’s king.”

Thor had been afraid of that. Not that he feared losing his position as king, Loki had made it abundantly clear he did _not_ want a throne, but of the affect it would have on his brother. Maybe he should have taken younger Loki’s offer to join him in Asgard. Aside from Loki himself, younger Loki knew exactly what his brother would say.

“There’s nothing to be done about it now,” Thor sighed. “All we can do is try to get through this. The sooner we can move past this meeting, the sooner we can get back to rescuing Helblindi.”

A look of pain crossed Býleistr’s face at the thought of his younger brother. Thor knew exactly how his cousin felt, having had that same fear in regards to Loki. _His_ brother was safe for the time being. He just hoped Loki, either of them, didn’t decide to do something foolish while Thor was gone.

“We’ll get him back,” Thor said, placing a reassuring hand on Býleistr’s shoulder. The fact that he had to reach _up_ to do so was a bit strange.

Býleistr nodded and any of the turmoil he was feeling disappeared behind a mask of stoicism. “We hardly know one another and our Realms have been at odds for generations. Why are you being so kind to us?”

“You’re family,” Thor replied, surprised himself at how simple of an explanation that was. “You’re right,” he said, lowering his hand to his side, “we do barely know one another and… the old prejudices were and sometimes still are hard to work through.”

“Yes, I still expect to be attacked at any moment here.”

Thor winced slightly. “It’s something both sides will have to work on.”

“Were we on Jötunheim it would be the other way around.”

Thor hated to admit that Býleistr was right. He would be on his guard as well had they been on Jötunheim and so would anyone he took with him. He wished he was as good with words as Loki so he could give Býleistr decent words of encouragement.

“Thor.”

Thor turned towards the new voice and saw his friends making their way quickly down the hallway. He was surprised to see Sif with them. He still had not forgiven her for what she had done to Loki and Morgan. He did manage to keep his anger at her in check though.

Suspicion shone in Sif’s eyes but Fandral and Volstagg seemed to take Býleistr’s presence in stride. “I’m sorry Thor,” Volstagg said, “there’s no sign of Haldor. His family claim they don’t know his whereabouts.”

Thor had suspected as much. The search for Haldor would have to continue but at the moment, it couldn’t be his main priority. “It is possible they don’t. We’ll just keep looking.” His eyes fell on Sif. “I’m pretty sure I banished you from the palace.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Býleistr’s look of surprise before his cousin quickly hid it.

Sif’s back straightened. “I have no love for Loki,” she said, “but I do care about you. What Haldor did could have brought us to war and I know you didn’t want that anymore.”

“I would like to avoid starting a war,” Thor agreed, “and I do appreciate you wanting to help find Haldor but… Sif, you have to know this doesn’t change anything.”

Hurt briefly flashed across her face before she suppressed the emotion. “I won’t apologize for being right.”

“Loki is my brother—”

“He’s not your brother!” she snapped.

Thor raised an eyebrow at her while Fandral and Volstagg winced. “If you wish to be literal then no, Loki isn’t my brother. By blood he’s my cousin and so is King Býleistr.”

Býleistr quickly shot him a look that clearly said _don’t drag me into this._

Sif and his friends all seemed surprised by that statement.

Thor continued, “It doesn’t change that I will _always_ consider Loki my brother because he _is._ ”

“Of course he is,” Volstagg said, shooting Sif a warning look. “How is he doing by the way?”

“Frustrated,” sighed Thor, “but better. Morgan and Jack have been climbing all over him since he came back.”

“Jack?” Sif asked.

“Loki’s kitten,” Thor, Fandral and Volstagg all replied.

She seemed even more confused by that. Thor didn’t think she need be surprised, they had all seen Loki “rescue” multiple cats as they were growing up. Loki had indeed rescued many felines over the years however getting him to _part_ with them once they were healthy was the hard part.

Sif collected herself, “Haldor has spread to all of the nobility the truth surrounding Loki’s birth but he never mentioned a blood tie to the House of Odin. How could… How could you possibly be related to a Jötunn?”

And there were those old prejudices. Thor knew Sif was only using the Jötnar as an excuse. He knew now that she had hated his brother for far longer than the years since Loki had learned the truth.

“My grandmother is Jötunn,” Thor stated matter of fact. “I’m not going to explain it more times than I need to.” He suddenly realized one reason Sif was at the palace. The _entirety_ of Asgard’s nobility had been invited to hear what his father had to say and that included Sif. “I need to go. The assembly should be starting soon.”

“You have our support and so does Loki,” Fandral said. He turned to Býleistr, “A pleasure to meet you, your majesty.”

Býleistr was momentarily speechless. “You as well,” he finally replied.

It warmed Thor’s heart to see people were _trying._ It was more than he could have hoped for in the people who had been lost to Hela. When this was all over he would have to bring his new family to New Asgard. The Asgardians who lived there were much more tolerant of people’s from other Realms.

A horn blew loudly, announcing the nobility had fully assembled. Once again, Thor wanted to be just about anywhere but here. “Shall we?” he asked.

Býleistr nodded, “I hate this part of being king,” he grumbled.

While Thor was a bit surprised to hear him say that around others, he couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. Thor decided he would have to do something about the council at the very least. Too many minds unwilling to see another’s side or hear another opinion on a subject had helped to bring Asgard to this point. Even before now, he thought it might have been one of the _many_ reasons Loki had reacted to the knowledge of his heritage the way he did. Thor didn’t want his brother to be someone he was not but he also didn’t want Loki to continue hating himself for something that couldn’t be changed.

Together they made their way to the assembly hall. They parted before entering and Thor met up with his parents. Both Odin and Frigga were dressed in their ceremonial armor and his father once more held Gungnir in his hand. Thor may have taken on the title and role of King of Asgard but Odin remained Allfather. His parents both held determined looks though his father did not appear as though this was something he was looking forward to.

“It’s time,” his father said. He squared his shoulders and stepped through the entryway and out into the large balcony reserved for the royal family.

Thor followed his parents. The sound of many voices conversing echoed all the way up here. Thor’s mind imagined several different topics of conversation and his stomach twisted when he wondered how many of those conversations spoke ill of his brother.

Odin struck Gungnir against the floor, the sound the spear made caused all conversation within the assembly hall to end. All heads turned to regard them.

Thor spotted the Jötunn delegation, their cobalt skin in stark contrast to the mostly pale skin of the Æsir. He felt his eye twitch when he spotted Vörnir, dressed in fine pelts with many golden jewels draped upon his form. There was something very haughty about him and Thor hated it.

“You have all gathered here because _former_ Chancellor Haldor has spread a rumor that Prince Loki is not a member of my family,” Odin began, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. “He said Prince Loki was born to another, to King Laufey of Jötunheim and that his purpose here was to infiltrate Asgard’s royal family, however that could not be further from the truth.”

More murmuring rang out through the chamber. Vörnir’s expression darkened. “If I may, Asgard King,” Vörnir interjected, “there is some truth to the Chancellor’s words. Prince Loki _is_ the first born of our late King Laufey.”

Býleistr glared at his priest. “You forget priest,” Býleistr said, “that Prince Loki is Asgard’s Chancellor, not Haldor.”

Vörnir nodded though there was something disrespectful in the movement, “Apologies my king.” He turned his attention back to the assembly hall. “It is true that a Prince of Jötunheim is the Chancellor of Asgard. What Jötunheim demands to know is _why_ Odin-King took Prince Loptr away?” Vornir’s crimson gaze found Odin’s. “What was your intention when you _stole_ our prince?”

“What proof do you offer for your words?” a member of the Alfheim nobility inquired. “The former chancellor offered none. How do we know this is not a ploy by Jötunheim to begin conquering once again?”

More voices rang out, demanding the same answers of Vörnir. Thor felt bad for Býleistr. His cousin did not deserve what Vörnir was doing to him.

“He has none,” Býleistr answered. “He only has the word of a disgraced chancellor and a Midgardian general with a grudge against Prince Loki.”

Vörnir’s head whipped around so that he could stare at his king. “My king,” Vörnir said, “you saw the truth, same as the rest of us.”

“What I saw,” Býleistr replied, “was an instinctual reaction to protect oneself. Prince Loki is a shapeshifter, priest, or have you forgotten that in your old age?”

Thor shared a quick look with his mother. She appeared just as confused by Býleistr’s words as he was. Thor, unable to see his father’s face was unable gauge where his thoughts might be. What was Býleistr doing?”

“You saw his heritage markings, same as I did,” Vörnir argued.

“I saw something,” Býleistr shrugged nonchalantly, “and while the prince may have been able to mimic the heritage lines of my family, it is not proof of a lost elder sibling.”

Thor sucked in a breath when he realized Býleistr was… Býleistr was _protecting_ Loki. He was also, in the process of doing so, thoroughly infuriating his priest. There was obviously no love lost between the two, Býleistr had nearly said as much not too long ago. Býleistr placed himself in front of Vörnir and the priest wasn’t able to completely conceal how that action angered him.

“Jötunheim has no intention of conquering any realms,” Býleistr said to the assembly. His voice rang with the authority and conviction of his station. “Asgard was gracious enough to extend an offer of peace to us and also introduce us to the Realms once more so that we may begin to trade again. My father’s actions brought Jötunheim to its current state and we can no longer continue holding onto the anger of our ancestors. My father’s ambitions are not my own.

“I have not ruled Jötunheim for long but our realm cannot continue along the same path it has followed for the last several generations.”

“Prince Loki was born Prince Loptr of Jötunheim,” Vörnir interjected. His voice steadily began to rise, “stolen by Odin-King at the end of the war.”

“There is no record of a living heir before me,” Býleistr said.

“But there _is_ record of a child born before you.” Vörnir grasped upon the opening. “One who is heir not only to Jötunheim’s throne but to the throne of Asgard as well.”

The room erupted with more voices at Vörnir’s words. Several called the priest a liar while others demanded proof of his claim while still more wanted the truth from Odin.

His father struck Gungnir on the ground again, causing the room to become silent once more. All assembled turned their attention back to the Allfather.

“I appreciate what you are trying to do nephew,” Odin said, “but these rumors must be stopped before they become even more out of hand.” Býleistr nodded however it was obvious the assembly had caught on to his father’s use of the word “nephew”.

“Yes,” Odin said, his voice ringing out across the hall, “King Býleistr is my nephew, son of my sister Queen Farbauti. Queen Farbauti of Jötunheim, formerly Princess Farbauti of _Asgard_ is the first born of my parents, King Bor and Queen Bestla. It is also true that I _rescued_ Loki from the frozen battlefield upon which he had been abandoned when he was just only hours old. He may be the blood child of the former King and Queen of Jötunheim but they gave up _all_ rights to him when they left him in the Temple at Utgard to _die._

“I took Loki for no other purpose than to save his life. My queen and I claimed him as our own, biologically he is our nephew but we will _always_ claim him as our _son._ ”

“The line of succession dictates that Prince Loptr is the true King of Jötunheim _and_ Asgard,” Vörnir exclaimed. “Jötunheim demands his return and that he be instilled as the true High King of the Nine.”

“Jötunheim demands no such thing!” Býleistr cried.

When Vörnir turned to Býleistr, there was a smugness to his form that Thor wanted to beat out of him. “ _You_ are not Jötunheim, your majesty.” Vörnir pulled a scroll from within his robes and handed it to Býleistr. “The nobility of Jötunheim have decided the throne belongs to the rightful heir.”

_When the Hel could they have had the time to come up with that_ , Thor wondered, equally as shocked as Býleistr appeared to be. There was no way Vörnir could have spoken with the whole of the priesthood and Jötunheim’s nobility in the short time between leaving Midgard and arriving on Asgard. This must have been something the priest had been working on for a while.

_It’s all about the power,_ Thor recalled someone mentioning. _Vörnir wants power and since he’s learned he cannot control Býleistr he plans to remove him instead._

“If you think demanding Prince Loki to be crowned king will allow you to control him for your own political gain,” Thor said, “you’re mad. Loki will _never_ allow himself to be controlled like that.”

By Vörnir’s glower, that was exactly what he had been expecting to happen. “Regardless, the line of succession _demands_ Prince Loptr be instilled upon the thrones of Asgard and Jötunheim.”

“His name is Loki,” Býleistr growled.

“Be that as it may, Jötunheim’s nobility has made its wishes known. Should Prince Loptr _not_ be placed upon the thrones then Jötunheim will have no choice but to force the matter.”

“How?” Odin asked, “By going to war? You will lose priest.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A promise.”

“Your rule was illegitimate and so too is Thor’s,” pressed Vörnir. He spread his hands wide, looking to the other noble houses gathered, “Asgard has no legal ruler. Why should we listen to anything the so-called ‘ruling family’ has to say? Prince Loptr—”

“That is _not_ my name!”

Loki’s voice proceeded his appearance in the center of the hall, his form appearing in a shimmer of green. Thor wasn’t sure if this was really Loki or one of his simulacrum.

“I am _not_ your bargaining chip priest nor will I be used so that you may obtain more power.”

“Prince Loptr—”

“I said,” Loki’s voice was dangerously low, “that is not my name. You constantly repeating it will not change things.”

“It is the name your loving parents gave to you,” Vörnir said, his tone that of someone attempting to placate a small child. Thor couldn’t help his expression of incredulity at the priest’s tone. Did he honestly think that would work?

Loki slowly turned to face the priest. The expression on his face equally as dangerous as his voice had been moments ago. “We both know there was nothing ‘loving’ about Laufey and Farbauti in regards to me. They didn’t bother keeping me long enough to name me. Hel, Farbauti had barely cut the cord before she tossed me away. You yourself called me an abomination.”

“You misunderstood—”

“I heard it quite clearly,” Býleistr said, folding his arms across his chest.

“As did I,” Thor added.

It was clear to Thor that Vörnir was quickly losing control of the situation. “I did not mean it the way you think. You were stolen from your home, from your _rightful_ family and raised as an Æsir. _That_ is what I mean when I called you an abomination. I was wrong and for that I can only beg for your forgiveness. You were never meant to be among the Asgardians. You were _stolen_ by Odin-King to use against your true, loving, father.”

Loki was clearly unimpressed by Vörnir’s words. “Do not lie to me priest.”

“I’m not—”

“Among other things, I am the God of Lies so please, _try_ to come up with something a bit more convincing.”

“It is no lie,” insisted Vörnir. “You parents did not try to murder you, they sent you away to protect you. Your birth was meant to herald the end of the Æsir-Jötunheim War, with Jötunheim as the victor. You were spirited from your mother’s loving embrace for your own protection. Unfortunately,” here Vörnir turned his crimson gaze upon Odin, “we priests were unable to keep you safe. It is something we have regretted ever since. It was only Odin-King’s foolish ambition which kept you alive and,” now he sneered, “ _twisted_ you to hate your own people.”

“The Jötnar are not my people,” Loki said evenly. “I survived _because_ Odin, my father, found me and raised me as his own. According to Jötunheim, I am a runt and therefore my existence is shameful. _That_ is why I was sent away, it had nothing to do with saving my life but saving the reputations of your former king and queen.

“I was not raised as a Jötunn nor will I ever think of myself as one. Honestly, it’s a part of myself I hate most of all but I know it is something I cannot change. I will always, genetically, be Jötunn but I also carry the blood of the Æsir in my veins. I _am_ Æsir more than I am Jötunn and no amount of lies or flowery words will change that.”

He turned his attention to Býleistr now. “King Býleistr, though we are bothers by blood I do not believe I will ever truly think of you as more than my cousin. _Thor_ is my brother just as Prince Helblindi is yours.

“Regardless of what your priest says, I do not want your throne. I do not want _any_ throne so, for the sake of formality, I hereby renounce any and all claim to the throne of Jötunheim.”

“You can’t do that!” Vörnir shrieked.

“I believe I just did.”

“What about Asgard’s line of succession?” a Vanir noble inquired.

“Thor remains king,” Loki said with a shrug, “and until such time as he has a child of his own I will remain Asgard’s crown prince. Asgard is perfectly happy with Thor as her king, why should we change that? Now, in the words of a dear friend,” he spread his hands wide, “class dismissed.”

Conversations among the noble houses resumed once again. Vörnir appeared ready to burst a blood vessel. Býleistr said something to the priest which only made Vörnir even angrier before his cousin left the Jötunn delegation and made his way over to Loki. The two spoke quietly for a moment before they left the hall. Thor shared a look with his parents before they, too, vacated the royal family’s balcony.

The three of them met up with Loki and Býleistr in the hallway. “I thought you were staying on Midgard,” Thor said by way of greeting.

“He did,” Loki replied.

It took Thor a moment to register Loki’s words. He covered his face with a hand, “I don’t know _why_ this even surprises me.” He lowered his hand, “Wait, how did you know what Vörnir said?”

“Infinity,” Loki replied. “It allowed Loki to see and hear what I did and I was, in turn, able to reply as he would. It’s a bit hard to explain and I’m not entirely sure I understand it myself.”

“Well, however it works, your timing could not have been better,” Býleistr said.

“What did you say to Vörnir?” Thor asked.

“I’ve removed him from his position. The other noble houses of Jötunheim who sided with him will face consequences for trying to usurp my rule. They are all being arrested for treason as we speak.

“Vörnir may have powerful allies but I have many more. He refused to believe Jötunheim wanted to move away from the path my father set it on. He may have put a coup in motion but I’ve known about it for longer than he realizes. I was simply waiting for him to fall into his own trap.”

“Wise,” his father said. “If you continue to work for your people, you will be a great king.”

“Thank you uncle,” Býleistr said.

“What you did earlier,” Frigga said, “trying to protect Loki, I thank you but this is something we all should have faced long ago.”

“I doubt either of us would have taken it any better no matter _when_ we learned the truth,” Loki said to her. “Now isn’t the time to dwell on it though.”

“You’re right,” Frigga agreed, “yet I cannot help but wish our mistake hadn’t hurt you, both of you, so much.”

Loki shrugged, “You were doing what you thought was right. I understand that now and so does Loki.”

Thor could still see regret reflected in his parents expressions. Their keeping the truth of Loki’s birth a secret for so long had been, in Thor’s opinion, the main catalyst for everything that had happened once his brother had found out. If they had told Loki when he was much younger than perhaps his brother would not have suffered as he had.

“Has there been any developments on Midgard?” Thor asked.

“They’re still preparing to storm the Raft,” Loki replied. “Stark… _Tony_ ,” he corrected himself, “doesn’t want to alert Ross and endanger Helblindi any further.”

“I need to return to Midgard but,” Býleistr said, his expression falling, “I also need to return to Jötunheim. I can’t risk any of Vörnir’s loyalists to gain _any_ shred of power. I feel as though I’m abandoning my brother.”

“You said you have many on Jötunheim who are loyal to you,” Thor said. “You’ve brought some of them here with you, correct?”

“Yes. I’ve known them since childhood. They are some of my closest friends.”

“Then explain to them the situation. If they are truly loyal to you they will keep your kingdom secure until you are able to return.”

Býleistr appeared torn between his duty to his realm and his duty to his brother.

“Sometimes your duty as king forces you to put your responsibility to your family last,” Odin said. “It is something I was forced to do more often than I care to admit.”

“Odin,” Frigga said, “this isn’t helping him.”

“What I am trying to say,” his father said, “is you cannot always do that. Family must come first in matters such as these. There will be consequences no matter what you decide to do however, you must ask yourself, which decision would you regret most _not_ making?”

“I can’t abandon Helblindi,” Býleistr said with conviction, “I _won’t._ I need time to speak with the nobility then we will return to Midgard.”

* * *

Loki walked slowly around the hologram of the Raft displayed before him, attempting to commit the facility’s layout to memory. Tony and Everett Ross had gone to make their own separate preparations prior to infiltrating the Raft. Loki had read and reread the schematics detailing the layout and security systems of the Raft. If Thaddeus Ross had complete control, once he fully locked it down there would be no safe way to infiltrate. Loki did not like the idea of placing Helblindi in any further danger.

Thor sat watching him from a nearby chair. His leg bounced with pent up energy. Loki knew he would rather be doing _something_ instead of sitting here waiting. That was one difference between his brother and younger Thor, his brother had learned some semblance of patience.

“Loki and Býleistr will be returning soon,” he told Thor.

“How do you know?” Thor asked.

Loki looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. “Infinity told me.”

“Oh.” Thor was silent for only a moment. “Did it tell you how things went in Asgard?”

Loki nodded in affirmation. He’d been quite surprised by the way things had unfolded. He’d expected more of the noble houses to have simply taken Haldor and consequently Vörnir’s claims at face value. That some had questioned the legitimacy of those claims still shocked him.

Loki gave Thor a brief explanation of what had happened although his eyes never left the hologram. The pulsing red spot which indicated where Helblindi may be being held continued to draw his attention.

An idea came to him but he needed more information before he attempted to put his burgeoning plan into motion. “F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” Loki asked, “is the Raft’s security set to detect spatial anomalies?”

_“In what way Mr. Loki?”_ asked F.R.I.D.A.Y.

“Energy fluctuations? I know it is set to detect motion and thermal anomalies but what about the energy within a room?”

The AI was silent as it processed Loki’s query. _“It is designed to detect unusual energy levels.”_

“Could it detect a cloaked simulacrum?”

Thor sat up straighter in his seat. “What are you thinking?”

“We don’t know if this,” he gestured to the pulsating room, “is really where Helblindi is being held, it’s only speculation. If I could poke around undetected I could gather intelligence on the conditions inside and it might help us execute our plan in a more efficient manner.”

_“No,”_ F.R.I.D.A.Y. said, replying to his previous question. _“The Raft’s sensors are not designed to detect the energy given off by your simulacrum.”_

That was good news. With a nod to Thor, he left the room and made his way to the common area where he found Tony and Pepper conversing quietly. Morgan sat on the floor playing with Jack. Upon his entrance, Morgan and Jack stopped their play and rushed over to him.

Loki scooped up the kitten before he could climb Loki as he usually did. With his other arm he picked Morgan up. “I haven’t been gone long,” he said to her.

“Actually, it’s been a couple of hours,” Pepper said.

Loki’s eyebrows shot up. He’d thought he’d only been gone an hour, tops. “I hadn’t realized.”

“I wanted to come get you but mommy said no,” Morgan said with a pout.

“I was busy and you would have been extremely bored,” Loki told her.

“No I wouldn’t.”

Loki shared a look with her parents. Morgan had been rather clingy after their excursion in the alternate reality and his recent panicked running away hadn’t helped at all in that regard. Morgan _hated_ having him out of her sight for too long. Jack was following along with that pattern of behavior as well. The kitten had slept on his chest the past few nights and, when able, followed him _everywhere._ Loki drew the line when Jack had tried to watch him bathe and had since made sure to keep the kitten out of the bathroom whenever he needed to do anything in there.

“Well, we’ll see how true that is next time.” To Tony and Pepper he asked, “Any word from Ross?”

“Not since he left for D.C.,” Tony replied.

“I spoke with Agent Hill earlier,” Pepper said. “She said the helicarriers are ready to deploy and are simply waiting for the go ahead from President Hayes.”

“What sucks is we have to wait for the various warrants to be drawn up. Ross was coordinating with the FBI to get the required paperwork in order as fast as possible.”

“There’s _always_ paperwork,” Loki groaned.

“The Raft belonging to the international community doesn’t help at all,” Pepper said. “It may belong to the US on paper and the other countries associated with it are quickly distancing themselves from it but…” she shook her head, “the political fallout from this is going to be massive.”

“And until all of the paperwork is in order, we’re stuck,” Tony added. “I am seriously hating the Accords more and more.”

“We can’t actually go in yet,” Loki said, “but we may still be able to gather intelligence on what’s happening inside.”

“How do you mean?”

“I can’t risk teleporting inside but F.R.I.D.A.Y. has assured me the Raft’s sensors can’t pick up a cloaked simulacrum.”

Tony and Pepper quickly caught on to what he meant. “Be careful,” Pepper said.

“I’ll pull back if there’s even the _hint_ of detection,” Loki reassured. He set Morgan down then stepped over to the couch and took a seat. Closing his eyes, he let his essence drift away although he kept one ear on his physical surroundings.

He opened his astral eyes to view cold metal walls and barred cells. Bright florescent lights illuminated each cell, allowing Loki a complete view of the occupants inside. He searched for Helblindi but did not spot him. Once he ascertained his location, he made his way towards where Helblindi was said to be held. He found the room to be not a cell, but a laboratory of some sort. Loki found the boy inside and was glad to know what little intelligence they’d been able to gather so far was good.

After assuring himself that Helblindi was currently the only occupant of the room he made his way over to the boy. Helblindi was strapped to an oversized chair, heavy metal bands encircling his arms, wrists and ankles. His head was down and Loki couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or not. What caused Loki’s breath to catch however was not the way he was sitting nor the hopeless droop of his shoulders, it was the device that seemed to have been _grafted_ to his skin.

A crescent band encircled the boy’s head with… were those needles pressing into his temples? Helblinid’s fledgling horns were _gone_ with only barely healed stumps left in their place. Wires led from the band down the back of his neck and along his spine and split to run along his arms and legs as well. The wires terminated at the back of his wrists and ankles where they disappeared beneath the skin. Dear Norns, what the Hel had Ross done to him? Even if Loki had still hated the Jötnar as he once did, _no one_ deserved what Ross had done to Helblindi.

Loki bend down until he was within the boy’s sight and allowed himself to be seen by him. “Don’t speak, don’t react at all,” Loki said quickly before Helblindi could do more than gasp. His eyes roved over Helblindi’s form once again and guilt washed over him. More emotions, ones he had not been expecting, overcame him as well. Anger and a fierce _protectiveness_ made him want to kill Ross, slowly and painfully, for what he had done to the boy.

Helblindi kept his head down but his eyes met Loki’s own. Tears welled up in the boy’s eyes and ran down his cheeks. Loki wished he could simply whisk Helblindi away but he couldn’t risk it until he knew what the apparatus was that encased him. For all he knew such a move would kill Helblindi.

“Hold on just a little longer Helblindi,” Loki said. “We are coming for you, I swear it.”

Helblindi’s head bobbed, the movement easily mistaken for him trying to get comfortable but Loki knew it to be a nod of acknowledgement.

Loki reached out, placing a hand on Helblindi’s. He couldn’t actually touch Helblindi but the sentiment of the action brought back a fire to the boy’s eyes. “We’re coming for you,” Loki repeated, “and Ross will pay for what he’s done.”

He gave Helblindi one last reassuring smile then let the simulacrum dissolve. He opened his eyes to the expectant faces of Tony and Pepper. They couldn’t wait any longer. They had to strike and they had to do it _now._


	9. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helblindi discovers what Ross wants with him. Loki and the others go over their plan to rescue Helblindi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... This decided to go in a direction I wasn't expecting. Should I even expect things to happen as I think anymore? The upcoming conversation between Loki and Bestla was completely unplanned.
> 
> On another completely unrelated note but one that still makes me giddy. Nintendo put out another update for Animal Crossing New Horizons for Halloween. There are more colors you can have for your characters skin and eyes. I'm a complete nerd and my character is Loki and he lives in Asgard. I make up some face paint and he can be Jötunn-Loki for Halloween. That makes me _way_ happier than it should.

**_Nine_ **

When Loki disappeared from his sight, Helblindi wanted to start crying again. The tears which had spilled upon first seeing his cousin (brother?) had barely dried on his cheeks when more threatened to fall. He would be strong though, Loki had promised they were coming for him and Helblindi believed it.

The door to the lab opened to admit Ivan, who paused upon seeing him and sighed. “He’s going to live,” Ivan said.

It took Helblindi a moment to understand who Ivan was talking about but once he did, his heart felt just a little lighter. “Truly?”

“Yes,” Ivan shrugged. “I mean, he’s going to lose the arm but… I guess it’s better than the alternative and besides, it allowed Ross to get what he wanted and you weren’t forced to take a life. Sophia’s taking good care of him.”

That was good news. Helblindi had feared for the Midgardian he’d been forced to use his powers on. To know the man would live, although maimed, lessened the guilt he felt just a little.

Returning his thoughts to what he had just learned from Loki, he wanted to tell Ivan that a rescue was coming but thought better of it. He didn’t want to do anything that would undermine what Loki and the others were planning to do. He wished he’d been able to speak with Loki instead of simply staring at him. He hoped that when he was rescued, the others who were trapped on the Raft could be rescued as well.

Helblindi shifted as much as he could while strapped to the chair. It wasn’t comfortable at all and his body ached from remaining in the same position for so long. This was the longest he’s been restrained since he’d been outfitted with the device. “May I stand?” he asked.

Ivan looked at him again and sighed once more. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

“Why not?”

In answer to his question, the door slid open again and Ross stepped inside. The Midgardian appeared very displeased which both frightened Helblindi and brought him extreme pleasure.

“To what do we owe the honor of this visit, _general?_ ” Ivan asked snarkily.

Ross shot Ivan a cold stare, one which sent a shiver down Helblindi’s spine. “I want a progress report,” Ross said without preamble.

“On what?” Ivan asked. “I’ve barely had time to go over the data.”

“But you have gone over the data.”

“ _Barely,_ ” Ivan emphasized. “I’m not a miracle worker Ross. I can’t just _magically_ make whatever the hell it is you want me to. This shit takes time and he,” Ivan pointed to Helblindi, “is not your tool. He’s a _child_ Ross, not some weapon of war.”

Ross’s cold gaze turned to Helblindi before the man moved to stand near where Helbindi was bound. “How is he responding to the implants?”

“His body isn’t rejecting them, if that’s what you mean.”

“Can you control his powers through them yet?”

“I haven’t tried.”

“Well try. I want to know how cold he’s able to make things.”

“Let me go and I’ll show you,” Helblindi said. “I’d be more than willing to give you a demonstration.”

Ross arched an eyebrow. “I’m sure.” He turned back to Ivan. “You have twenty-four hours to bring me a prototype. If you don’t have anything by then, then I’ll find someone who can see this creature for what it really is, a means to an end, nothing more.”

Ross turned on his heel and left the room. Ivan made the same hand gesture towards Ross’s back that Helbindi had seen him make earlier. “What does that mean?” he asked once the door had closed.

Ivan pressed his lips together. “Ross wants me to turn you and/or your powers into a weapon.”

“I know that,” the thought continued to twist his stomach. “I mean the gesture. What does it mean?”

“The finger?” Ivan shrugged, “Short version, fuck you.”

“Oh.”

Ivan smirked, “But I didn’t tell you that.” The expression dropped. “Are you in any pain?”

“A little,” he admitted.

Ivan moved to release the clamps holding Helblindi to the chair. He examined the device encasing him and gently pressed his fingers at an area where the wires disappeared under Helbindi’s skin. “Does that hurt?”

Helblindi tried to keep from wincing but wasn’t completely successful. “It hurts sitting here.”

“Your muscles are stiff from non-use.” Ivan finally released the clamps holding Helblindi. “Anywhere else?”

He’d been trying to ignore the ache in his head but now… he reached up and prodded the stumps where his horns had been. “I know they’re gone but I can still feel my horns. They still hurt.”

“Phantom limb syndrome,” Ivan said. “It happens a lot with amputees.”

“ _Why_ did they take my horns?”

“Control,” Ivan said with a shake of his head, “or maybe they were afraid you’d gore someone. Honestly, I can’t say exactly why they did it.”

“When my brother comes for me—”

The sound Ivan made caused Helblindi to flinch. It wasn’t a laugh, exactly, but it frightened Helblindi all the same.

Ivan continued to chuckle for another moment or two. “I hate to break it to you kiddo, but no one is coming for you. Sure, they can try but the Raft is impregnable. No one _ever_ escapes this place.” He held up a hand. “I take that back, there was a jailbreak _once_ but after that… Well let’s just say no one ever left this place again, not unless they were in a body bag.”

Helblindi couldn’t believe it, he _refused_ to. Bý and Loki _were_ coming for him, Loki had sworn it. Ivan simply refused to believe but Helblindi wouldn’t give up hope. He _would_ be free; he just had to wait a little longer.

* * *

After informing Tony and Pepper of what he had seen while in the Raft, Loki went in search of Bestla. She deserved to know what was happening to her grandson but once he found her, he had second thoughts. Could he really tell her what he had seen when there was nothing she could do at the moment? The knowledge would only grieve her more, wouldn’t it? He decided it was better to wait.

“We will be leaving once Thor and the others return from Asgard,” he informed her instead.

Bestla gave a small nod then turned away from the window she had been gazing out from. “Loki, may we speak for a moment?”

“We’re doing everything we can to return Helblindi to you safely,” he reassured her.

“I know you are and I thank you all for everything you are doing.” She gestured to the sofa, “Please.”

“I really do need to be there for the briefing.”

“Which will not happen until after Thor and Býleistr return.” She stepped closer to him, her form taking on an Æsir shape as she did. “Does this make you more comfortable?”

Loki managed to keep himself from wincing at her question. “I have no opinion on what form you take.”

“Yet my natural form unnerves you.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

Bestla smiled, “I does, because it reminds you of your own.”

Loki realized he’d begun picking at the palm of his hand and forced himself to stop. He had to fight to keep from tensing. “What do you want from me?”

“Only to talk.”

“I’m not about to start living my life as a Jötunn nor start living on Jötunheim,” he said defensively. “It isn’t who I am. I don’t care about Laufey, I don’t care about Farbauti. Why does everyone suddenly seem to think I’m about to embrace something I’m not?”

“I cannot speak for Farbauti, I certainly will not speak for Laufey,” Bestla said, taking a seat on the sofa and patting the space beside her, “but I do wish to speak with you about your mother _before_ you were born.”

Loki continued to stand. “Farbauti isn’t my mother.”

Bestla nodded, “She gave birth to you but, you’re right, she is not your mother. Please,” she asked again.

Not really seeing a choice, since he knew whatever it was Bestla wanted to talk about would come up again. He decided he would really rather get it over with now so that he could focus on what was important, rescuing Helblindi and bringing Ross to justice.

He crossed his arms, “Fine, what about Farbauti?”

Bestla seemed to deflate a little. “Farbauti _was_ a good mother and when she first found out she was pregnant with you, she was so excited. She spoke to you all of the time while she carried you.”

“Then why did she throw me away?”

“Because Laufey would have killed you had she kept you.”

That was contrary to what he’d been told earlier. “You said Farbauti embraced Jötunheim’s old ways which included the killing of runts. Are you telling me…” Loki had to take a breath to control his suddenly raging emotions. “Are you telling me she _didn’t_ want to get rid of me?”

“I wish I could say yes but, she would never speak of it so I cannot say. She never wanted to speak of you but I always had the sense it wasn’t due to shame towards you, not completely. A mother’s love… I do believe Farbauti loved you in her own way. I think if she hadn’t embraced the old ways and hadn’t feared Laufey and the court’s reaction so much that she would have kept you and _loved_ you as a mother should.”

Loki rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Why are you telling me this?”

Bestla stood, “Because I want you to know you were loved, you _are_ loved, if not by Farbauti and Laufey then by myself and your brothers. If I had gotten to you before Odin I would have taken you to the village deep within the Jökel Mountains where you would have been safe and raised by people who love you.”

“I _was_ raised by people who love me.”

“I know but… I cannot help but feel guilty for not getting to you first and for allowing you to grow up in a society where you now hate yourself for who you are.”

“And if I’d grown up on Jötunheim I would have been raised to hate the Æsir. I would have learned to hate my Æsir side, if I’d even been told about it to begin with.”

“I would have made sure you were told.”

“Would it have made a difference though? Býleistr admitted he didn’t start to see things differently until after Helblindi was lost to the Snap. Even with the knowledge his grandfather was Æsir, he would have continued along the path Laufey had set out and _nothing_ would have changed.”

By the expression on Bestla’s face, she could see the truth of his words. “I tried so hard to keep those boys from becoming like their father. For all of Laufey and Farbauti’s faults, they did genuinely love those boys.”

“I’m just the castoff.”

“Loki—”

“No, it’s alright,” he interrupted, the anger and defensiveness he felt at the beginning of the conversation draining out of him. “I’ve accepted I can’t change the circumstances of my birth but…” Loki perched on the arm of the couch opposite of Bestla. “You know one thing that bothers me the most about my heritage? It’s not so much that I’m Jötunn, it’s that I feel as though I’m expected to embrace it, that I’m supposed to change who I am now that I know the truth.” He met Bestla’s eyes, “It may be _what_ I am but it isn’t _who_ I am. I don’t know that Loki or Loptr, if Vörnir is to be believed.”

“Loptr is the name Farbauti chose for you.”

“If you had found me instead of my father or if Farbauti had decided to keep me instead, I wouldn’t be who I am now and I don’t know if I would even like that person. I know if you had been the one to find me, I would have lost a lot. I wouldn’t have my parents, I wouldn’t have my brother. I wouldn’t have Tony and Pepper who are like my brother and sister and I _definitely_ wouldn’t have Morgan.”

The two lapsed into silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Bestla said, “It angers me that you hate yourself _because_ you are Jötunn.”

Loki shrugged, “Honestly, there’s a lot more to it than that. I’d hated myself even before I found out. Realizing I was the monster parents tell their children about at night, the ‘natural’ enemy of the Æsir didn’t help but…” He met her gaze again. “I’d always been different, my interest in seiðr as opposed to combat, my passion for learning and just… _everything_ about me. I’ve had to relearn, remember actually, that there was a time I was _happy_ in Asgard.”

“What do you mean?”

“After I… My attack on Jöunheim wasn’t simply in retaliation for Laufey trying to kill father.” There was much more to it but he didn’t think explaining the truth about his part in helping the Jötnar ruin Thor’s coronation was a good idea at the moment. “I thought if I could destroy the Jötnar with no loss of life to the Æsir it would surely prove my loyalty to Asgard. Now I see it was good that Thor managed to stop Jötunheim’s destruction but at the time I thought it was the only course of action to take.

“In the aftermath I… well there was a good amount of miscommunication but… The Bifröst was destroyed and the resulting explosion sent Thor and I over the edge. It was only by some miracle father was able to grasp onto Thor who somehow caught Gungnir, which I held.” He took another breath, “ _Because_ of that miscommunication I decided it was better if I no longer existed.”

Bestla’s eyes widened in horror, “Loki, you…”

“I let go. I tried to kill myself,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Instead of dying, I ended up Thanos’s prisoner. He and his ‘Children’ broke me in every way possible and by the time I was sent to Midgard to retrieve the Tesseract for him, I no longer knew what was and what wasn’t real. They took my memories and twisted them to the worst possible outcome. I truly thought it was Thor who threw me into the Void while father watched instead of what really happened.

“Would any of that have come to pass had I remained to be raised on Jötunheim?” Loki shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe, maybe not. Who knows, maybe I would have still ended up hating myself for being a runt on Jötunheim. What I do know is constantly speculating about it does me no good. There will always be the ‘what if’. The only thing I wish is that I had the chance to ask Farbauti why. It’s a question I’ll never have answered but it’s something I have to live with.”

Any further conversation on the topic was interrupted by the flash and boom of the Bifröst. Loki sent up a silent thank you to the Norns for giving him a means of escape. He left the room, Bestla close behind him. He arrived at the conference room at the same time as Thor and the others.

“The helicarriers are on their way,” Tony said by way of greeting. “They should be positioned around the Raft in a couple of hours.”

“When do we leave?” Býleistr asked.

“Within the hour. The quinjets are much faster than the helicarriers so it won’t take us long to catch up. Plus, the Doublemint Twins and I can fly under our own power and even faster than the jets.” He looked over at younger Loki, “You have figured out the flying thing right?”

Younger Loki’s expression became smug and he smirked, his eyes darting over to his brother for a moment. “I figured the flying thing out.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, “There’s a story there.”

“One for another time,” younger Thor said. Loki agreed with him but he also wanted to know what the story was.

“Anyway,” Tony returned to the subject at hand, “Ross, our Ross, finally got the warrants and will accompany the lead carrier. SHIELD is taking point in the operation so dad’s not going to let us have a whole lot of fun.”

“Fury’s on board?” Loki asked, surprised.

“Oh yeah, he’s uh… pretty pissed at having one of SHIELD’s instillations become a place used to commit crimes against humanity.”

“Wait a minute,” younger Loki said, “I thought the Raft was owned by the United Nations.”

“It is but it was initially run by SHIELD under the supervision of the World Security Council.”

“Oh, this just keeps getting better and better,” Loki said drily. “How are we getting inside?”

“The Raft is still submerged however,” Tony motioned to the hologram, “even under total lockdown if there is a catastrophic loss of power the safety protocols override security and it will surface.”

“Wouldn’t the Raft have its own power source?” younger Loki asked.

“It does,” Tony affirmed, “along with backup emergency power. If the system is forced to emergency power for more than five minutes, the safety protocols will go into effect.”

“How do you plan on achieving that goal?” Býleistr asked.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.. She’ll take control of the computer long enough to kill the power.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just have F.R.I.D.A.Y. take control of the system?” asked Thor.

“It would but once they realize their computer system has been breached, they’ll physically cut the communication lines and she’ll lose control. This way, we can force our way in and not have to worry about drowning.”

“What about Helblindi?” asked Bestla.

“He is being held in the room we suspected,” Loki said. “I sent in a cloaked simulacrum to look around.”

“Why didn’t tell me that earlier?” She gripped his arm, “Couldn’t you have gotten him out then?”

“I couldn’t risk it. I didn’t know if taking him would cause him further harm.”

“Further harm?” asked Býleistr.

“Tony, when F.R.I.D.A.Y. hacks the system, would she have enough time to find out what the device they’ve hooked him up to is?”

“Maybe,” Tony replied. “She might, at the very least, be able to find out if taking him from the Raft will kill him.”

“ _What_ are you talking about?” Bestla demanded.

Loki pressed his lips into a thin line. “This,” he replied and with a small gesture created an illusion of Helbindi for them to see.

Both Bestla and Býleistr gaped at the illusion in horror. Bestla covered her mouth with her hands and her eyes glistened with tears. “They’ve maimed him,” Býleistr cried.

“What is that wrapped around him?” Bestla inquired.

“I don’t know,” Loki replied, “but whatever it is it’s grafted to his body.”

“What about his horns?” pressed Býleistr.

“They look like they’ve been surgically removed,” Tony commented. “Why the hell would Ross do that?”

“Because he’s a sadistic bastard,” Thor said.

“Okay, _beyond_ that.”

“I am going to kill that mortal,” growled Býleistr. “To have…” He visibly shook with rage and the temperature of the room seemed to drop, “He will pay for shaming Helblindi so.”

Býleistr seemed quite focused on Helblindi’s missing horns. That they had been taken from the boy was terrible but Býleistr’s concern felt like more than that. “Do your horns have some cultural significance?” Loki asked.

The look Býleistr shot him was scathing. “Of _course_ they do. While not everyone has horns, for those that do, to have one’s horns taken from them is… It’s the ultimate shame. To have a runt for a child was less shameful than losing one’s horns.”

“I didn’t know that.” At Býleistr’s, and even Bestla’s, skeptical look, Loki said, “I don’t know enough about Jötunn culture to know the significance of your horns. Even when I’m in… that shape, I don’t have horns.”

Some of Býleistr’s anger seemed to leave him. “You’re right, you didn’t know. I apologize.”

“You’re upset and worried about Helblindi, it’s understandable.”

Thor placed his hand on Býleistr’s shoulder then flinched, quickly pulling his hand away. His palm was bright red and he shook it before dropping it back to his side. “Once we rescue Helblindi we can take him to Asgard. I will have our healers do whatever they can for him.”

“Asgard’s healing arts are better equipped to handle such a wound,” Bestla agreed. Loki watched Býleister visibly fight to calm himself at her words. “We cannot afford to focus on such a thing right now. He is _alive_ and I would rather have him alive and without his horns then dead and with them.”

“You’re right mormor. We can’t lose him again.” The chill which had taken over the room seemed to abate.

“Right, so,” Tony manipulated the hologram to show both an exterior and interior view of the Raft. “We have roughly three hundred inmates, some of which may or may not deserve to be there. That’ll be a whole other cluster that needs to be figured out. According to the data Ross was able to obtain, there are between a hundred to a hundred-fifty civilian scientists, and security personnel numbering somewhere in the vicinity of nearly eight hundred.”

“That’s… a lot of security personnel,” younger Loki said.

“The Raft was initially designed to hold several _thousand_ people all told,” replied Tony.

“If it was meant to hold so many people then why were there so few officially recorded?”

“Contrary to popular belief, not all enhanced individuals commit crimes. Although, it was designed to be as big as it is due to the fact that prisons do, eventually, begin to fill up. They didn’t want to run out of room too quickly.”

“Kind of a depressing way to look at things.”

“Unfortunate fact of life. Prison systems are overcrowded as it is and over the course of history, many times they fill over their intended capacity. That’s dangerous with normal people and they didn’t want to risk putting enhanced individuals together who could end up working with each other for a jailbreak.”

“Which is exactly what we’re planning to do,” younger Thor said.

“Yeah, except our ‘enhanced’ are breaking in.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “When will F.R.I.D.A.Y. trigger the system?”

“When we’re about ten minutes out. That’ll give us the requisite five minutes of power loss to trigger the safety protocols along with time for the Raft to surface.”

“What if they somehow manage to keep the safety measures from triggering?” asked Thor.

“Then we figure out a Plan B. My suit allows me to dive to some pretty serious depths so if I really need to, I can actually destroy their power source but let’s jump off that bridge when we get to it, okay?” He glanced at his watch. “We’re getting pretty close to time to leave so I suggest everyone get what they need. We,” he gestured between himself and both Loki’s, “have to make a quick pit stop before we go or else we’ll be in big trouble.”

Right, they couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to Morgan, and Jack in Loki’s case. “Once everyone is ready we’ll meet up at the jet.”

The briefing dismissed by unsaid consensus, they all parted ways with Loki, younger Loki and Tony making their way to say goodbye to Morgan. “You know she’s going to want to come with us,” Loki said as they walked down the corridor.

“Yeah, pretty sure Pep’s gonna veto that _real_ quick. Hell, _I’m_ vetoing it,” Tony said.

“He knows that,” younger Loki said with a roll of his eyes.

“I’m just saying…” sighed Tony.

Loki shared a look with younger Loki. “We’ll have to make sure she and Jack don’t smuggle themselves onboard the quinjet before we leave.”

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Tony grumbled. “Seriously Merlin, stop being such a bad influence on my kid.”

The slight twitching of his lips belayed Tony’s complaint. “I am no such thing,” Loki said.

“We are the epitome of a perfect role model,” younger Loki added.

Tony gave them each a dry look. “You just keep telling yourselves that.” He clapped them both on the back. “Maybe one day it’ll be true.”

“I’ve worked wonders with you, haven’t it?” quipped Loki.

That stopped Tony short. “Do I _look_ like a kid?”

“Look no, act,” younger Loki smirked, “ _definitely._ ”

* * *

The atmosphere had become tenser after Ross’s visit. Ivan sat bent over his workstation muttering to himself from time to time. Even Sophia’s return to the lab hadn’t been able to lighten the mood any. She seemed to be just as at a loss for her partner’s temperament as he was.

Every now and again, Ivan would use his pen to tap out a random series of beats against the desk. It made no sense to Helblindi and it only annoyed Sophia. After the latest bout of tapping, Sophia snapped, “Stop that!”

Ivan glanced up from what he was doing, “What?”

“The tapping, quit it.”

Ivan only rolled his eyes but he did put the pen down. He returned to whatever it was he was working on. Ross’s ultimatum came to mind, the man wanted Ivan to create something based on or using Helblindi’s power. He worried about what would happen not just to him, but to Ivan and Sophia if they failed to complete Ross’s task.

“Freeze gun?” Ivan said after a while, breaking the silence. “Nah, too cliché.” He scrubbed his hands down his face. “I don’t even know what Ross wants,” he complained, spinning his chair around. “This… _thing_ he has Helblindi strapped to, I don’t…” A thought seemed to suddenly occur to him and he spun back towards the device on the table then began tapping out something on it. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered.

“What?” Sophia asked.

“Ever since Thor first came to Earth then the whole thing with Loki in New York, there have been several sub-projects under one simply titled _November Romeo Yankee._ ”

“Meaning?”

Ivan spun his chair back around to face her. “It didn’t click until now and Ross only had me working on it here and there, not enough to grasp the full picture. Look,” he manipulated the device to show several pictures and items of data, none of which Helblindi could read or understand.

“There are _nine_ sub-projects then several sub-sub-projects under each of those.”

“I’m not following you Ivan,” Sophia said.

“I thought something strange was going on, beyond the shit that normally happens around here. I’ve been around a while Sophie and stuck in this miserable hellhole for longer than you have. Bioengineering isn’t the only thing I’m good at. Anyway, that’s beside the point. Here,” he brought up another display, “what does this look like?”

“Yggdrasil,” Helblindi replied. The drawing was crude but he still recognized it.

“Exactly,” Ivan said. “ _November Romeo Yankee,_ ” he emphasized. “N-R-Y; the _Nine Realms of Yggdrasil_.”

“My God Ivan,” Sophia quickly reached over and shut the display off. “What are you thinking? If Ross finds out—”

“Ross isn’t _going_ to find out. The systems here, yeah, they’re good but it’d take one of Tony Stark’s AI’s to crack my phantom drive and track what I’ve been doing.” He gripped her hand, “It’ll be okay Sophie.”

“Please, _please_ , don’t do anything to get on Ross’s bad side.”

“The man has a good side?”

Sophia clearly wasn’t impressed with Ivan’s quip. “You know what he’ll do if he finds out.”

“I know,” Ivan replied, “but some risks are worth taking. If this,” he turned the display back on and gestured to the information on it, “is what I think it is then Ross plans on going beyond Earth. I think I finally understand what that device they’ve grafted to Helblindi is for.”

Sophia looked over at Helblindi before her eyes wandered around the room. She bit her lip and it was obvious she was uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken.

“This room is secure for the moment,” Ivan said. “We have another few minutes before I have to remove the security loop so I have to be quick. I’m going to keep digging until I know for sure but… I think he plans on weaponizing the different species, starting with the Jötnar.”

“How would he do that?” Helblindi asked. “He has no way to reach Jötunheim and my brother would never give up any of our people to become weapons of a mad man.”

“The natural paths,” replied Ivan. “There’s a reason Earth is known as Midgard. It sits in the very middle of Yggdrasil, literally Middle Earth.”

“Ivan,” Sophia groaned.

“What? Where do you think Tolken got his ideas? Like, ninety percent of _Lord of the Rings_ is based on Norse mythology. Now,” he brought back up the crude drawing of Yggdrasil, “Midgard probably has the most natural pathways between the realms of all nine worlds, again Middle Earth. The Bifröst can’t have always been there so the different races would have used another means of travel between them.”

“Space ships,” ventured Sophia.

Ivan smiled, “Maybe at some point but even those wouldn’t have been around since the beginning. If Ross can find the paths leading to the different Realms then he wouldn’t need space ships or the Bifröst.”

“Ross doesn’t have access to the Bifröst and I doubt Asgard is going to let him borrow it.”

“There are research notes from a Doctor Jane Foster about an Einstein-Rosen bridge along with more notes from Doctor Erik Selvig. He also has all of the data SHIELD collected on the Tesseract and something called the Convergence that happened back in 2013. I think if Ross put enough minds to it, he could find a way for Earth to have its own Bifröst, or at least some version of it at least that way he wouldn’t need to locate the natural pathways.

“You and I are living proof that people from the other Realms have been here before. It’s not too much of a leap in logic to think Ross wants some way to control or _eliminate_ anything he perceives as a threat to the planet.”

“I hate when you’re right,” Sophia groaned.

“But you still love me anyways.”

“Remind me why again.”

“Oh I would but I’d rather not scar Helblindi,” Ivan replied with a lascivious grin.

Sophia paused before her cheeks seemed to become darker. “Ivan!”

Ivan dropped the smile. “Anyway, times almost up. Remember,” he looked between the two of them, “this conversation never happened.”

“What conversation?” Helblindi asked.

“I knew there was a reason I liked you kid.” Ivan did something else on the device and all of the information previously displayed disappeared. “Now, to pretend to give Ross what he wants.” He said something else, so low Helblnidi wasn’t sure he heard it. It sounded like Ivan said, “Only a few more hours.”

Helblindi was going to ask what he meant but thought better of it. Ivan clearly hadn’t meant for anyone else to hear him. Helblindi moved away and slowly walked around the room, working the stiffness from his muscles. _A few more hours?_ Helblindi wondered. _What did that mean? A few more hours until what?_


	10. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Raft

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure I'm satisfied with this chapter but it is what it is.
> 
> But oh look, more people have shown up to the party.

**_Ten_ **

After saying goodbye to Morgan and Jack, the kitten digging his claws into Loki’s clothing in an obvious attempt to go with him. Loki managed to extricate himself but only just barely. Jack’s mournful meow tore at Loki’s heart but it was far too dangerous for him to bring Jack along. Morgan too since she wanted to help, “Kick the bad guy’s butt.” Tony and Pepper had both told her, as gently as they could, that she wasn’t old enough to go with them on something like this just yet.

Loki made his way to the waiting quinjet and found Býleistr pacing back and forth along the ramp. There was tension in the man’s shoulders that Loki knew to be a mixture of anger, worry and anticipation.

Upon spotting him, Býleistr said, “I don’t quite know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Once we make our way inside, you find Helblindi. The rest of us will take care of Ross and those working for him.”

“I have seen battle before, but this somehow feels different.”

“It most likely is. This isn’t a battle we’re about to fight, per se. We’re rescuing your brother.”

“He is your brother too although I understand why you wouldn’t think of him as such. I don’t think of you as my brother even though you are. What I feel about Helblindi… I should have protected him. I _never_ should have allowed this to happen.”

“This isn’t your fault.”

“Perhaps not but I cannot help but feel it is.”

They lapsed into silence, each becoming lost in their own thoughts. It wasn’t much longer before the others arrived and boarded the quinjet. Loki was a bit surprised when more than Tony, Thor and their youngers arrived. Romanov and Rogers boarded as well and looking through the viewport Loki saw more people boarding other birds.

“Someone needs to pilot this thing when you jump,” Romanov said by way of explanation.

“And the other quinjets?” Loki asked.

“Last minute change in plans,” said Tony as he entered. “Since Ross and others, they’re still working that part out, have gone rogue, the UN has _requested_ the Avengers take care of the issue. Hence the heavy hitters.”

“Wait!” someone called. “Wait for me,” young Peter came scrambling up the ramp. “Hi Mr. Thor, hi Mr. Loki,” He said as he passed the youngers then skidded to a halt by Tony, “You were going to leave me behind Mr. Stark? I want to help too. Oh, hi Mr. Thor, hi Mr. Loki, hello Mr. Blue Giant, hi— wait.”

Young Peter’s head swiveled back and forth so fast Loki feared the teenager was going to give himself whiplash. “Why are there two of you?” Peter asked, “Are you making duplicates again?”

“They’re from an alternate reality,” replied Loki.

Wonder lit Peter’s eyes, “Really?”

“Yes and when we get back you can ask them _all_ about it,” Tony said, ushering Peter towards the exit.

Peter twisted his body out of Tony’s grip. “I want to help Mr. Stark.”

“And you can, from the compound.”

“But—”

“Peter, your aunt will _kill_ me if I let you come along.”

“She doesn’t have to know. I’m not gonna tell her.”

From the other side of the compartment, younger Loki snickered. Younger Thor elbowed him in the side while poorly attempting to be serious. Tony sent them each a glare, “Shut it Tweedles.”

“Please Mr. Stark,” Peter begged. Loki had to bite back a smirk of his own when Peter set the full force of his puppy dog eyes on Tony.

“No.”

“Let the boy come,” Thor said. “There is no better experience for battle and Peter will be safe.”

“Safe? In battle?” Tony asked skeptically. “Loki, just how much brain damage does your brother have?”

“The healers are still trying to determine the full extent of it,” Loki quipped.

“Funny,” Thor remarked drily. “However the fact remains, if Peter is to enter into battle having us around to watch over him will help to keep him safe.”

“ _Please_ Mr. Stark,” Peter folded his hands together and somehow widened his eyes even further.

Younger Loki stood and put his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “How can you say ‘no’ to that face?” he asked Tony.

Tony seemed to realize when he’d been beaten. “All right,” he conceded, “but once we get there, you stick to me like glue. Understand?”

“Yes, absolutely,” Peter agreed.

“Strap in everyone,” Romanov called from the cockpit. “We’re taking off.”

They took their seats and Loki realized Býleistr was too large for them. He sat on the floor and held onto a set of safety straps.

“Are you able to adjust your size?” Loki asked him. He remembered Vörnir mentioning it as being an ability taught for trips to foreign realms.

“Father forbade anyone to teach Blindi and me how to do that,” Býleistr replied. “Even mormor was unable to teach us to do so.”

“That’s a thing?” asked Tony, taking his own seat.

“Vörnir changed his size when he spoke to me,” Loki replied. How long ago had that been? It felt like a lifetime even though it couldn’t have been more than a few days.

Peter took a seat beside Loki and strapped in. “You’re really from another reality?” he asked the youngers.

“We are,” younger Loki replied.

“That’s amazing. How different is your reality from ours? What am I like?”

“We haven’t met you in our reality.”

There was a light jerk as the quinjet lifted off. They rose swiftly into the air and Loki watched Býleistr wince as his ears popped. Peter’s surprised, “Really?” drew Loki’s attention back to him.

“Their reality is twelve years behind ours,” explained Loki. “The you of that reality is only about… ten, eleven maybe?”

“How is that possible?”

“Alternate realities aren’t exactly like you see in movies,” Tony said. “Their reality broke off from ours when we went back in time for the Infinity Stones.”

“The Stones can create new realities?” asked Býleistr.

“I never really thought about it.”

Loki looked at younger Loki, the both of them wondering the same thing. _Is that possible?_ Loki inquired.

_It is within our ability._ Infinity replied. _However it is not something we do often and it is not always our actions which bring new realities about._

A sudden, _worrying_ , thought came to Loki. _I can’t accidently create or, Norns forbid,_ destroy _a reality, can I?_

 _No,_ Infinity replied with its twinkling laughter, _we would not allow that to happen._

Both he and younger Loki let out a sigh of relief. It didn’t go unnoticed by either Thor. “What was that about?” Thor asked.

“Infinity assured us that we can’t accidently create or destroy a reality,” younger Loki replied.

Thor and younger Thor’s eyes went wide in shock and Peter’s jaw dropped.

“I suppose it’s something that should have crossed my mind earlier,” Loki mused, “since one of the Stones is Reality.”

“The power of the Infinity Stones reside within you, correct?” asked Býleistr.

Loki didn’t want to really broach the subject but allowing Býleistr to keep his mind from focusing entirely on Helblindi and sending his worry spiraling out of control was a good thing. He wouldn’t be able to focus on the upcoming mission properly if he lost himself in worry.

“Thanos destroyed the Stones in our reality not long after the Snap,” Loki explained. “We traveled through time to collect the Stones from different points so we could reverse the damage Thanos had done. Afterwards they were returned to the points in time they came from. Somehow, during all of that, their reality broke off from ours. The exact trigger for it is something I don’t entirely understand.”

“The Stones allowed you to bring Mr. Stark back to life,” Peter said. “How did you know or…” Peter’s eyebrows drew together in thought.

“He was able to bring Nat back too,” Rogers said. From the cockpit, Romanov waved.

“You were killed?” Býleistr asked her.

“Jumped off a cliff for the Soul Stone,” Romanov replied flippantly.

“And you?” he now asked Tony.

“I used the Stones to destroy Thanos’s army that had traveled from the past. That Thanos wanted to use the Stones we collected to completely rewrite the universe. The human body wasn’t meant to have that much power running through it. There are only a few who _can_ wield the Stones and only one of them can do it safely.”

“It wasn’t me who brought the two of you back,” Loki said, “it was Infinity.”

“But how did you know it would work,” Peter asked, “and if our Stones don’t exist anymore, how can their powers be used?”

_Perhaps it would be best if we explain._

_Yes,_ Loki agreed, _please do._

Loki felt the shift as Infinity took control. Oddly enough, he sensed his eyes did not swirl completely, only his iris glowed. He briefly wondered what that looked like.

“The Stones were not a true representation of our physical form,” Infinity explained. “Our physical body was destroyed eons ago and forced into the form of the Stones by the Eternals. They thought to control our power. We are the very fundamental basis upon which _all_ realities are built and we exist across all of those realities.

“When the Eternals broke and bound our body, they altered something the universe couldn’t function without. Therefore, to correct this imbalance, vessels were born to house our power. However, so long as we were trapped in the Stones and our essences spread out, our consciousness was limited. Our full consciousness did not return until we acquired our vessel.”

“Loki is your vessel,” stated Býleistr.

Infinity nodded, “Yes.” It then faded into the back of Loki’s consciousness, giving him control once more.

Infinity’s words brought a question to his mind. If the only way for Infinity to be truly free was to destroy the Stones, then how had it been able to come together within him when they were in the other reality? They hadn’t destroyed the Stones over there. He supposed it was a question for another time. 

“What did you do with your Stones?” he asked younger Loki instead.

“They are in Asgard’s vault,” he replied.

“All six of them?” Thor asked in surprise.

“Isn’t that a little dangerous?” Tony added.

They youngers exchanged a look. “They’re inert,” younger Loki said.

“Huh,” Loki didn’t know why he found that surprising. Following the surprise was a sense of guilt. He had collected the Stones as a means of returning Morgan and himself from the other reality. His actions had also brought the Thanos of that reality to Midgard. His actions had brought so many consequences, some he had apparently not taken into account.

“Don’t,” younger Loki said, breaking into Loki’s thoughts. “Things would have been much worse otherwise.”

Loki gave a small nod, conceding the point.

“You know, I know you two were technically the same person up until a little while ago,” Tony said, “but seeing you two do the twin thing is really creepy.”

Without missing a beat, they both gave Tony identical grins. Tony recoiled with a yelp and Peter quickly smothered a laugh at his mentor’s reaction.

“No, stop that,” Thor said. He stood and pulled Loki from his seat then took his place. “We’ve already spoken about this. You don’t get to wow both of Tony’s kids.”

Younger Loki burst out laughing. “Looks like you’re a little too late brother.”

“It must be contagious,” Býleistr quipped. “Helblindi followed Loki around like a frostpup.”

“Oh Norns, he did,” Thor groaned.

Peter leaned forward in his seat, “What’s a frostpup?”

* * *

Helblindi watched silently as Ivan continued to work on one of the many devices he didn’t recognize. There was the consistent clicking as Ivan’s fingers flew across the… keyboard? There was much about Midgard’s technology (practically all of it) he didn’t understand. Ivan’s shoulders were tense and Helblindi was curious what had put him in such a mood. The man had left earlier for a short time and when he had come back he’d been completely focused on his work. Even Sophia hadn’t been able to get any type of reaction from her partner.

“Here,” Sophia said, drawing Helblindi’s mind back to the present, “hold this.”

Helblindi took the metal stick from her. “What do I do with this?”

“It’s going to measure how cold you can make things.”

“Oh.”

“Shit!” Ivan suddenly exclaimed. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“What’s wrong?” Sophia asked.

The clicking became faster and Ivan seemed to hunch even further over his work.

“Ivan,” Sophia pressed. “What’s wrong?”

Heavy footfalls drew their attention to the door. It swished open to admit several armed men. One of them pulled Ivan from his chair. The guards had their weapons trained upon them but they parted at Ross’s order to do so. Helblindi hated the Midgardian the more he saw him.

“What is the meaning of this?” Sophia demanded.

“You two stay where you are,” Ross ordered them. He turned his glare on Ivan. “It isn’t going to work.”

Ivan grinned, revealing sharp teeth. “Maybe not the way I wanted but at least it’ll be out there. The whole _world_ will know what you’re planning.”

Confusion flitted across Ross’s expression for a brief moment. “Project _November Romeo Yankee_?” He gave off the impression of rolling his eyes without actually doing so. “It won’t take much for World Security to convince nations of the merit of their project. Thanos is the perfect example of why we need these measures. I’m not worried about that.”

Helblindi’s stomach sank. Ross knew Ivan knew about their largescale plan for the Nine?

“I wasn’t talking about the project,” Ross continued. “I know what you have been doing. Neither you nor your wife are leaving this compound. I shouldn’t have to remind you.”

Ivan’s smile dropped and his expression darkened. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“I commend it actually but I can’t allow you to continue trying to undermine our work.”

“What are you going to do? Lock me up?”

“No, solitary isn’t worth the effort.” His head turned slightly towards them. “Say goodbye to your husband Dr. Maynard.”

“Goodbye?” Sophia asked, fear overpowering her confusion.

A loud bang the likes of which Helblindi had never heard before caused them to jump. Sophia screamed and Helblindi watched as Ivan seemed to fall in slow motion. There was a dark spot on Ivan’s forehead and his eyes were wide with shock. He hit the floor, unmoving, while a puddle of red formed under his head. Whatever glamour he’d been using to make himself appear completely human faded, his skin took on a more bluish tint while his eyes turned a sickly red.

Sophia continued to scream, calling Ivan’s name over and over. She rushed over to his prone form only to be restrained by the guards. Helblindi shook with rage. If it wasn’t for the device encasing him, he would have frozen Ross where he stood.

Ross’s attention was pulled away from the scene by one of his guards. His expression changed again but before he could reply to whatever he’d been told, the whole facility lurched violently, sending them all to the ground.

* * *

_“Boss,”_ F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s voice echoed through the quinjets speakers. _“There’s a problem.”_

“Not something I want to hear,” Tony said, moving to the cockpit. “What is it?”

_“All communications from the Raft have ceased.”_

“They know we’re coming?” Loki said, joining him near the front of the ship.

“We don’t know that for sure,” Tony replied. He didn’t sound too convinced though.

_“There was a large data burst right before the Raft went silent.”_

“What was in it?”

_“I’m still deciphering the encryption.”_

Their comms pinged then and one of the displays lit up to show Fury and Everett Ross standing on the bridge of their helicarrier. _“We’re at the rendezvous point,”_ Fury said without preamble. _“The Raft’s communications have stopped.”_

“Yeah, we noticed that,” Tony replied. “Any idea _how_ they knew we were coming?”

Ross’s expression turned grim. _“Our agent may have been compromised.”_

“You had someone on the inside?” Romanov asked.

_“Not in the way you’re thinking,”_ Ross replied. _“There were always scientists aboard the Raft who were hoping to study those who were_ rightfully _meant to be imprisoned there and before you go thinking mad science experiments, that wasn’t what it was at all. Some enhanced individuals are dangerous to themselves as well as others. We were hoping to find a way to_ help _the ones who couldn’t control their powers.”_

Loki tried to find the lie in the man’s words because they were a bit too convenient but there wasn’t any. Either Everett Ross truly believed what he said or it _was_ the truth.

_“It would have been nice to know about this beforehand,”_ Fury said to the man.

_“Need to know, Director, and at the time, you didn’t need to know.”_

Tony coughed but Loki knew it to be the snicker it really was. He always seemed to get a kick out of whenever someone pulled a fast one on Fury. Loki agreed with the sentiment and as much as he would have liked to savor Fury’s indignation, they didn’t have the time. “Is that where you received the information you showed us earlier?”

Ross nodded.

“How long has your agent been on the inside?” asked Romanov.

_“Years,_ ” Ross replied, _“but he didn’t become a CI until recently. He’s one of the Raft’s ‘unofficial’ prisoners. The last transmission from the Raft was from him.”_

“The data burst,” Tony speculated.

_“Seems likely,”_ Fury replied. _“They’re working to decrypt it now.”_

“That doesn’t seem like it would be a reason to stop communications,” Rogers said. “Unless it was to try preventing the information from getting out.”

“Well whatever the reason, it forces our original plan off the table,” Tony said. “Unless F.R.I.D.A.Y. can somehow reestablish a link.”

_“No can do boss,”_ F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied. _“I’ve tried but it looks like they cut the hard lines.”_

“Shit.”

“Plan B then?” Thor said.

“Do we _have_ a Plan B?” asked younger Thor.

“Yes, we do,” Loki replied. With a thought, his battle leathers formed around him. He exchanged a look with younger Loki, who had done the same. He made his way to the back of the craft and pulled the release for the hatch. The back of the quinjet opened allowing him to jump out.

_“The hell Merlin!”_ Tony’s voice echoed through the comm in his ear. _“Wait up!”_

Several voices spoke over each other and his lips twitched when he heard Býleistr ask, _“What do I do with this?”_ Tony must have created an earbud that would fit the Jötunn.

Loki flew through the air, younger Loki right behind him. They sped over the ocean towards the location of the Raft. Thor’s (he wasn’t quite sure which one) indignant, _“Slow down Loki,”_ only had him moving faster. While he may not have a display before him showing him the way somehow he was able to _sense_ which direction to go.

The fleet of helicarriers came into view. Loki realized, belatedly, that he could see them even though they were cloaked. They surrounded a completely unassuming point in the ocean though Loki knew from the way they were spread out that the Raft lay beneath the waves at the very center of the formation.

Loki stopped to hover and younger Loki took up position across from him. He could hear the sound of Tony and their brothers making their way to their location.

_“What exactly do you plan on doing?”_ Rogers asked.

_“I can still physically cut the power,”_ Tony replied. _“It’ll take me a few minutes though.”_

_“Cut power and the Raft’s safety protocols trigger,”_ Fury said. _“Force the facility to surface.”_

“No need,” he said. Loki held his hands out, palms down towards the water. Slowly the ocean began to shift, the water becoming choppy as it fought against the unnatural current. The ocean rose and swelled then a whirlpool began to spin. He could _feel_ the power gained from Infinity flowing through him. The more it built within him the faster the ocean spun. At the very edge of his focus, he became aware of his brothers and Tony arriving to hover near the two of them. Even though he wasn’t looking, he knew younger Loki mirrored his pose.

“Uh… what are you doing?” Tony asked.

Instead of answering, Loki turned his palms outward. With the movement of his hands, the ocean parted, revealing the cold gray of the Raft. Now, turning his palms upwards, Loki slowly began to raise his hands. The sound of straining metal reached their ears.

“Holy shit,” Tony breathed.

Several more expletives came over the comm, all of the voices stunned by what they were seeing. With one last terrible sound, the metal clasps holding the Raft in place snapped. The facility rose into the air until it cleared the water level. As soon as it was high enough, the ocean walls collapsed, completely engulfing the now broken supports and piping.

Loki felt younger Loki shift, taking control of the ocean. The water below the Raft solidified. It hadn’t turned to ice but Loki knew he could safely place the Raft upon it and it wouldn’t sink. He did so then made his way down. The others followed along with several quinjets which then emptied the various Avengers and SHIELD agents.

“That was _amazing_ ,” Spiderman exclaimed, running up to them.

“Remember kid,” Tony said, “like glue.”

Býleistr frowned down at the ground under his feet. His own armor, seemingly made of ice, had formed around him and he held a sword, also seemingly made of ice, in his hand. Beneath him, ice crystals formed on the wet surface and Loki thought he saw cracks beginning to form in the metal. Býleistr’s expression was determined as he made his way towards the nearest entrance.

Said entrance opened slowly, they must be on limited emergency power, admitting the Raft’s security forces. They rushed towards the invaders although a few of them remained behind. Loki saw uncertainty in their stance.

_“Remember,”_ Fury’s voice said over the comms, _“_ try _not to kill anyone.”_

“I promise nothing,” Býleistr replied. He swept up the first guard to reach him, lifting the man up by his neck. “Where is my brother,” he demanded.

The guard instantly dropped his weapon, his hands scrambling in an attempt to loosen Býleistr’s grip from his throat. Loki felt a chill run up his spine which had nothing to do with the weather and _everything_ to do with his own memory. A phantom hand squeezed his neck and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe.

“Loki,” Thor’s hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present. Thor firmly, yet gently, turned Loki so that he wasn’t watching Býleistr. “Breathe brother.” Miraculously, he managed to do so.

“Býleistr, put him down,” younger Thor called. “He can’t answer your question when you hold him like that.”

Loki flinched at the sound of a body hitting the ground. He recalled his own body falling like a marionette whose strings had been cut followed by Thor’s cry of agony. They had both thought Loki’s death was a sure thing at that time. Loki silently berated himself. He’d been doing so much better and he couldn’t afford to become lost in the past when the present required his complete focus. The sound of fighting finally reached his ears; gunshots, energy blasts, the sounds of armor on flesh and the screams of the combatants as they either won or lost their fights.

“Are you all right?” Thor asked, his voice just barely able to be heard above the din of battle.

Loki nodded, “Yes. I’m sorry, I lost myself for a moment.”

Thor smiled at him, “It’s a memory, nothing more. It cannot hurt you ever again. _He_ can’t hurt you.”

With another nod, Loki cast his eyes around them. He was surprised he hadn’t been attacked when he’d lost focus but…

_You were lost in your memory for only a moment,_ Infinity told him. _Less time has passed than you think._

Oh, okay then. “I’m going after Helblindi,” he announced. Drawing a breath, Loki called his power to him. He didn’t want to waste time trying to navigate the corridors down to where Helblindi was being held.

“I’m coming with you,” Býleistr said, having overheard Loki.

“Not the way I’m going,” he replied. “Tony, can you lead Býleistr to where Helblindi’s being held.”

_“Roger dodger,”_ Tony replied merrily. _“If we’re lucky, we’ll run into Hitler Junior along the way.”_

 _“Is that an insult to Hitler?”_ someone asked. Was that Barton? What the Hel was he doing here?

_“It might be a tie,”_ Rogers replied.

 _“Has Ross committed mass genocide yet?”_ an unknown man asked.

_“Depends on who you ask,”_ Banner replied.

_“Who has the higher body count?”_ Barton inquired.

_“Hitler,”_ Romanov answered.

_“_ Why _is this even a conversation?”_ the unknown man demanded.

_“Because we’re all fuc—_ messed _up in the head,”_ Tony replied.

Spiderman sighed over the link, _“I go to school Mr. Stark. I hear that word every day.”_

_“You’re sixteen and I’m_ trying _to be a good role model.”_

_“Technically I’m twenty-one.”_

_“Those five years don’t count, you’re sixteen!”_

_“Wait a second, why the hell is there a_ child _here?”_ Banner cried.

_“I’m not a child,”_ Spiderman grumbled.

“As entertaining as this banter is,” Loki drawled, “we have other concerns beyond having Tony’s Spiderling present.”

“‘Spiderling’,” Spiderman said, landing beside Loki, “I like that. Thanks Mr. Loki.”

“You’re welcome?”

“Maybe I’ll use that sometime.” Spiderman shot webs at one of the oncoming guards, securing the man to the ground. He spun around to engage another. “Your friendly neighborhood Spiderl— ack!”

_“Kid!”_ Tony cried.

Loki watched as Spiderman lost his footing and went over the side. He rushed over, intent on jumping after the boy. Even with his enhanced abilities and the water below them, young Peter would probably not survive a fall from such a height. Loki dove over the edge.

“I’m alright,” Spiderman said, his body pressed tightly against the side of the Raft.

Tony flew over the edge to hover beside the boy. His helmet retracted and his expression showed anger while his eyes showed nothing but relief. “Did I not say to stick to me like glue? You are _so_ grounded when we get back.”

“Yes Mr. Stark,” Spiderman replied.

“Can you make it back to the top?” Loki asked the boy.

“Yeah.”

“Then…” he trailed off. Spiderman was quite agile and could probably fight easily in tight spaces and he was also, relatively speaking, close to Helblindi’s age. He might be able to help Helblindi. “On second thought, why don’t you come with me?”

Even though Loki couldn’t see his eyes he imagined they widened as Spiderman perked up like a happy puppy, “Really?” If the boy had a tail, it would be wagging.

“You stick to me like glue,” Loki said, echoing Tony’s earlier stipulation.

“Superglue,” Spiderman replied.

Loki set his eyes on the wall beside where Spiderman hung. Holding out his hand, he willed the metal to peel back, followed by the portions of the superstructure; moving past ventilation, piping and wiring until the hole opened up into an empty cell. Loki’s feet touched the floor and Spiderman landed right beside him. With a flick of his wrist, the cells bars disintegrated. Together, he and Spiderman made their way deeper inside.

Red emergency lighting lit their way while sirens attempted to blare. With the steadily draining power they had become low and drawn out, like a toy whose batteries were dying. It took Loki a little longer than he would have liked to determine their exact location in relation to where Helblindi was being held.

They encountered resistance but not anything Loki couldn’t take care of. Any and all who set about hindering their progress found themselves quickly incapacitated, either by Loki or secured in Spiderman’s webs. Loki fairly _glowed_ with the power he was extruding, illuminating the area better than the red lights. The sounds of fighting echoed through the corridors. A terrified scream reached their ears and they turned just in time to see someone falling through the open area between the floors. Spiderman raced to the edge and managed to catch the falling man with one of his webs before the man could impact the ground.

After tying off the web, Spiderman said, “That was close.” No sooner had Spiderman said that that another body was sent through the opening. He scrambled to catch that person as well. “Stop throwing bodies!”

“Come,” Loki said, “you can’t stay here catching everyone who falls.”

“But—”

“Peter,” Loki said softly, “this is a battle, casualties are inevitable.” By the set of his shoulders, it hadn’t been anything the boy had wanted to consider. “You can’t save everyone.”

“But what if they don’t have a choice?” the boy protested, “What if they have to fight against us to protect someone they care about?”

Loki sighed, the aura around him fading a bit. “Unfortunately, we can’t determine that right now. Once we take the Raft we can sort that out afterwards.” It was, admittedly, not something he had considered. Were there personnel working here against their will? Had the World Security Council somehow coerced the people here into fighting for them? Somehow, he wouldn’t put it past them.

_We could determine that quickly,_ Infinity told him, _but it would require something we do not believe you would be willing to do._

 _What’s that?_ Loki asked.

_We would need to briefly tough their minds._

Infinity’s initial suspicions were correct, Loki was _not_ willing to touch another person’s mind. Not unless it was a last resort. _Let’s leave that option on the back burner, okay?_

He returned his focus back to Spiderman. Gripping the boy’s shoulder in what he hoped was reassurance, he said, “We will try to save everyone we can.”

Spiderman secured the second line with a nod. Loki looked over the railing down into the lower levels and saw more and more cells barely illuminated by the emergency lighting. While the lights were weak, he was able to make out the occupants of the cells attempting to see what was going on.

As he continued to scan the lower levels, he saw a figure pulling another figure behind them. The taller person’s skin turned purple in the red lighting. “Helblindi!” Loki yelled, leaping over the railing.

_“You found him!”_ Býleistr cried. _“Where?”_

“Yes,” Loki replied as he landed. He quickly searched for a location marker. “Sublevel twelve.”

_“We’re on our way,”_ Tony said.

Helblindi must not have heard him since the boy continued running. A blast from above drew Loki’s attention briefly but it was only Tony and Thor forcing their way inside. Like Loki, Thor too glowed with his power. Býleistr followed close on their heels and Loki sent out a light burst of power to let them know his location.

Turning back to Helblindi, Loki rushed to the boy, calling his name again. This time, Helblindi stopped. “Loki,” he cried in relief.

Loki realized Helblindi held onto the hand of a dark skinned woman in laboratory clothing. It was obvious she had been crying and she was still quite hysterical. She kept repeating, “Ivan,” over and over.

“Are you injured?” Loki asked.

Helblindi shook his head, “No more than…” he gestured to himself. “Sophia… Loki they killed her mate.”

That explained a lot. Peter may have been onto something with the “personnel” not working on the Raft willingly.

“Let’s get you two out of here. Býleistr will be glad to have you safe.”

“Bý’s here?”

“Of course he is.”

Helblindi suddenly seemed unsure.

“Whoa,” Spiderman exclaimed abruptly. “Hey, can you do that Frozone thing too?”

Loki went to ask what he was talking about but his question was answered when he saw Býleistr create a frozen track upon which he sled (surfed?) down to their location. The more Býleistr approached, the more Helblindi’s shoulders tensed.

“Brother!” cried Býleistr.

“I’m sorry,” Helblindi said, his voice hitching slightly. “I’m sorry brother, I didn’t mean… I couldn’t stop…”

Býleistr swept his younger brother into his arms. “It doesn’t matter,” replied Býleistr.

“B-but my horns…”

Býleistr pulled back but only a little bit. “You’re _alive_ Blindi, that’s all that matters. Your horns,” Býleistr tentatively brushed the still healing stubs, “proof of what you have endured and survived.” Helblindi’s expression crumbled and he began to weep in his brother’s arms.

The sounds of the battle began to ebb and Loki realized it was almost over. He hoped Ross hadn’t been able to escape. “Has anyone seen Ross?” he asked over the comlink.

_“We have him,”_ younger Loki replied. _“Agents Barton and Romanov are keeping him secure.”_

_“Has he said anything?”_ asked Tony.

_“Nope,”_ Barton replied, _“but he’s giving us the death glare to end all death glares.”_

_“The Raft is nearly secure,”_ Rogers said. _“SHIELD agents are combing through the facility looking for more personnel and the prisoners will be transferred to the helicarriers for the time being.”_

_“I’ve found a body,”_ Thor said, which one Loki didn’t know.

_“Where?”_ Thor’s voice asked. Only going by their tone it was impossible to tell which one had spoken.

_“Sublevel thirteen,”_ the first Thor replied.

_“Has anyone else found bodies?”_ Tony asked.

There were several negative replies. It appeared the rest of the prisoners were for the most part unharmed. _“Prisoner or personnel?”_ Fury asked.

_“Hard to say,”_ Thor said, _“he’s wearing a lab coat so… scientist maybe?”_

 _“What’s he look like?”_ Everett Ross asked. _“Is there any obvious cause of death?”_

_“Gunshot and… he looks almost Jötunn.”_

_“Multi-colored hair?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Damn.”_

The casualty must be the informant Everett had spoken of earlier. “Let’s get you two to safety,” Loki said.

“He can’t leave,” the woman said, wiping away her tears. They were instantly replaced by new ones.

“Why not?” Býleistr demanded.

Helblindi’s expression fell as the woman explained, “The device they’ve implanted in him will activate if he leaves the Raft.”

“Activate how?”

“There’s a cyanide capsule implanted at the base of his skull,” she said. “The facilities controllers keep the devices from activating unless the prisoners attempt to fight back. In the event of an escape attempt a signal is continually broadcast that the devices answer to. If the Raft doesn’t receive the keepalive signal it will cause the devices to activate. They can’t go too far from the Raft.”

“How far?” Loki asked, worried for any of the prisoners who had been sent to the helicarriers.

“A couple of miles, give or take.”

Loki quickly relayed the information to the rest of the team. The helicarriers wouldn’t be able to leave the vicinity until they took care of the controller.

_“I might be able to duplicate the signal,”_ Tony said, _“until we can safely remove these things from the prisoners. So long as this place doesn’t pull an Atlantis on us.”_

“This facility isn’t going to sink,” Loki said.

_“Okay, that’s good.”_

 _“How many people have these devices?”_ Fury asked.

_“We don’t have an exact count yet but I’ve seen close to fifty on my own,”_ younger Loki said.

“We can at least get you two to one of the helicarriers,” Loki said. “So long as they stay nearby, we should be fine.”

_“Uh…_ ” Tony said, _“slight problem. All communications_ outside _of the Raft have ceased. Internal wifi seems to still be functioning for the moment but once the power dies, that’s it.”_

 _“Is power all you need right now?”_ younger Loki, and presumably his Thor, asked.

_“Until I can set up my own transmitter to match the signal, yeah.”_

Loki felt a surge of energy then commercial power returned.

_“Power seems to have been restored to the Raft,”_ Everett said.

_“Convenient._ ”

_“You’re welcome,”_ Infinity said.

Loki had the sudden urge to laugh from the sarcasm in Infinity’s tone. It was as though, with those two words, the emotional rollercoaster of the past few days, (weeks?) had finally stopped.

“Helblindi can safely be taken from this place?” Býleistr asked hopefully.

The woman nodded, “So long as the signal remains.”

Býleistr wrapped his brother in another hug. Keeping one arm around Helblindi’s shoulders he started down the corridor then paused. “I have no idea where I’m going,” he said drily. This time, Loki was unable to stop his laugher.

* * *

Once everyone from the Raft had been transferred to the different helicarriers, a SHIELD team had remained behind to secure the facility as well as beginning an investigation into the true activities on the Raft.

Helblindi and the woman he’d been with had both been taken to the infirmary where SHIELD medics examined them. Unfortunately, there was little they could do for Helblindi since none of the medics were versed in Jötunn physiology.

Helblindi was reclining in a hospital bed, his ruby eyes staring blankly at a point on the far wall. Býleistr sat beside his brother but looked over at Loki when he entered the room. Helblindi didn’t react at all to his entrance.

“How are you doing?” Loki asked Helblindi.

Býleistr squeezed his brother’s hand before standing and moving over to Loki. “He hasn’t spoken since we arrived,” Býleistr replied softly, casting worried eyes back to his younger brother. “I wish I knew some way to help him.”

“You’re here for him,” Loki said, “right now that’s all you can do for him.” He glanced over at the nearly catatonic boy. “Tony thinks he’ll have duplicated the signal keeping the device from triggering soon. Once he has it we’ll be able to bring Helblindi to Asgard to find a safe way of removing that _thing_ from him.”

“He killed Ivan.”

Loki and Býleistr turned back to the bed. Helblindi’s eyes had regained their focus. “Who is Ivan?” asked Býleistr.

“Sophia’s mate,” Helblindi replied. “He was really nice to me, and funny. He is… was part Jötunn.” Helblindi raised his head and his eyes glistened. “He tried to help me.”

“And I will be forever grateful for that,” Býleistr said, returning to his brother’s bedside.

“Mr. Loki,” Peter said, knocking gently on the doorframe.

“What is it Peter?”

“Mr. Thor was looking for you. Mr. Stark is going to be back soon and then they’re going to…” he gestured vaguely behind him. “Mr. Thor said you’d want to be there.”

Ah, so they were going to speak to _former_ Secretary Ross. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The teenager’s attention turned to the two other occupants. “Hi,” he waved.

“Hello,” Helblindi replied.

“How are you?” Peter winced. “Sorry, dumb question… um… Do they know how to get that off of you?” Peter winced again and slapped a hand over his mouth. “Sorry, I’ll shut up now.”

Helblindi frowned, “No, they don’t.” He blew out a breath and everything about him screamed defeat. “I can never go home.”

“Do not speak like that,” Býleistr said with forced calm. “You _will_ return home.”

Peter bit his lip, “Can’t you heal him like you did Mr. Stark?” he asked Loki tentatively.

Býleistr and Helblindi both looked at him with hope flickering in their eyes. Loki blew out a breath of his own. “I didn’t want to suggest it and give a false hope. Also, I don’t know enough about Jötunn physiology and I don’t want to end up doing more harm than good.”

“How can you not—” Býleistr began but Loki cut him off.

“I never had a reason to and even after… I simply didn’t want to know.” He mentally shook his head. “Asgard has some of the best healers and if anyone can safely remove this device from Helblindi, it’s Lady Eir.”

“You see,” Býleistr said to his brother, “there’s still hope.”

Helblindi nodded silently but from the look on his face, Loki didn’t think the boy believed him.

“Hey,” Peter said suddenly, “do you like video games?”

Confused, Helblindi asked, “What are video games?”

Peter’s jaw dropped in shock. “Seriously, you don’t know what video games are?” When Helblindi shook his head, Peter gaped, “That’s not right, even Mr. Loki plays video games.”

“Something Thor and Tony hate,” Loki said. “I’m apparently not allowed to play against them anymore.”

“How come?”

“They hate losing.”

“So you think they have a system on board?”

“I don’t know but even if there isn’t I’m sure you can teach Helblindi to play later.”

“Have we met?” Helblindi asked.

“Oh yeah. I’m Peter,” the teenager said, approaching the bed. “We met earlier back…” again the vague hand gesture, “I’m Spiderman.” He took his phone out of his pocket and did something with it. “This is a video game. There are a ton of different ones.”

Some of the tension bled out of Býleistr’s form now. Helblindi appeared to relax a bit as well, becoming lost in whatever Peter was showing him. “I’ll come check on you later,” Loki told the elder Jötunn and received a nod in return.

He left them and made his way through the helicarrier. Helblindi had mentioned Ivan again. The body Thor had discovered had belonged to a Doctor Ivan Heart, identified by his wife, Doctor Sophia Maynard. Dr. Maynard said she and her husband had been taken to the Raft years ago, at separate times. They had been given the choice of using their scientific knowledge to advance the WSO’s agenda or being subjected to experimentation themselves. Obviously there was _much_ more to the story but that would all have to come later.

Loki made his way to the morgue. Dr. Heart wasn’t the only casualty of the battle but he wanted to see the man who had tried to protect Helblindi.

Dr. Heart was laid out on a table and Loki pulled down the cloth covering him to reveal his face. His eyes were closed but Loki suspected they were crimson beneath their lids. Dr. Heart’s skin held a bluish tint and underneath his _many_ tattoos Loki thought he spotted some finely raised lines. Upon his forehead, a hole where the bullet had entered. Though Loki couldn’t see it, he knew there was extensive damage to the back of the doctor’s head.

Loki closed his eyes and held out a hand over the prone form. _Who were you?_ he wondered. Loki opened his eyes and dropped his hand. What the hel did he think he was doing? Again, he felt the urge to place his hand over Dr. Heart. Loki was a bit uncertain but raised his hand again. From his fingertips, tendrils of orange drifted down to the lifeless form of the doctor. Loki was bombarded with several emotions; anger, fear, loss, a fierce sense of protectiveness and… love. Those were only a few among the swirling maelstrom he was picking up in his inspection.

_He was a good man,_ Infinity said as Loki drew back his hand. _He fought to protect many and did all he could to protect young Helblindi. He tried to free the prisoners and his wife. Ross killed him for the attempt._

 _What did you do?_ Loki asked. _How do you know that?_

 _We peered into his soul,_ Infinity replied. _He did not deserve what was done to him._ Infinity’s indignant anger sent a shiver down Loki’s spine. _So much loss for someone who only wanted to help others. Ross will pay for what he has done and so too, will those who controlled him._

_Yes,_ Loki agreed. He squeezed the doctor’s shoulder, “Thank you,” he said. His palm tingled and he flexed his fingers when he pulled away, frowning slightly. Loki reached for the cloth to cover the doctor again and frowned when he saw the bullet wound had vanished. _Did you just…_

Loki had the sense Infinity was grinning like an idiot. In answer to his question, Doctor Heart’s eyes opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who's confused about Býleistr not fitting into the quinjets seats this time, remember he was in an Æsir form when they went to the beach. 
> 
> I've known Ross was going to kill Ivan for a while now but I couldn’t just keep it like that.
> 
> Ross will get his punishment, don't worry but you're going to have to wait until the next chapter.


	11. Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A resurrection, a punishment and that's just the beginning...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!
> 
> I was going to update this last night but once I realized I was falling asleep while proof reading it, I decided to wait until morning. This took a few turns I wasn't expecting but, then again I try not to expect anything anymore. 
> 
> Thanks to Charbonne for pointing me to a video about the Accords. It was quite informative and I totally plan on using the information.
> 
> On an unrelated note, I've been starting a stand alone fic that I _hope_ will only be a one-shot but then again, this was only supposed to be three to four chapters and we're now on chapter eleven so I don't hold out much hope for anything sticking to any sort of plan. It's I guess a TDW AU, kinda. The premise of it is: What if Loki thought the events of the Avengers hadn't actually happened? Given how flippant he was at the beginning of TDW what if he believed the attack on Midgard was nothing more than an illusion cast by Maw and the Other as a means of conditioning him?
> 
> Anyway, onward!

**_Eleven_ **

Loki blinked down at the now, very much alive, Doctor Heart. The doctor looked up at him with equal confusion. “Well, this is awkward,” Loki said. Realizing he still held the cloth, he quickly let it go.

Doctor Heart sat up, the cloth pooling around his waist. “What… what happened? Where am I?” His eyes scanned the room and his expression shifted with dawning realization. “I’m… I’m in a morgue, on a slab because… I’m dead?” He lifted a shaky hand to his forehead. “He shot me,” he cried indignantly. “That bastard shot me!”

“If it’s any conciliation, you’re not dead anymore and Ross is in custody,” Loki said.

Panic flared in the man’s eyes. “Sophie and Helblindi—”

“They’re safe,” Loki assured before the doctor could work himself up. “Helblindi and your wife are in the infirmary. They’re being examined by the healers.”

Doctor Heart swung his legs over the table, giving Loki a better view of the man’s blood soaked clothes. Portions of his hair were still matted with dried blood, darkening the multiple colors. Heart reached up and prodded the back of his head. “This is going to be a bitch to wash out.”

“You seem to be taking all of this rather well.”

“Oh no,” Heart said, “I’m completely freaking out, trust me, but I spent enough time on the Raft that I learned not to let it show.” He lowered his hand. “I really shouldn’t look the gift horse in the mouth but _how_ am I alive?”

Loki sighed although in the back of his mind, he could hear Infinity chuckling. The sense of its massive grin hadn’t abated. “What do you know of the Infinity Stones?”

Heart’s eyes widened momentarily. “Only what’s in SHIELD’s database; basis of the universe and what was used to kill and then… The Stones brought me back?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“But I thought they were destroyed.”

“They were,” Loki confirmed, “but their essence resides within me.”

“No shit? I guess that explains Ross’s obsession with you.”

“I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”

Heart took several moments to let what Loki had told him to sink in. “It was never supposed to go that far,” he said after a time.

“What wasn’t?”

“The Raft. I volunteered to go there originally. I wanted to help people. The Raft was meant to be a penitentiary, yes, but also a research center. Some Enhanced, their abilities could help if we could only understand how their abilities work. Our ability to heal… do you have any idea the good that could be done if we could replicate such things in medicine?

“The WSC was hell bent on turning the Enhanced into weapons, after the Hulk and… New York, they didn’t care about helping people. They only wanted to control the Enhanced and destroy any and all threats to Earth.”

“They were frightened.”

“That’s not an excuse.”

“I’m not saying it is but it does explain their reasoning.”

“The data burst, did that get out?”

“It did. They’re still trying to decrypt it.”

“Ross is only a pawn,” Heart said, finally rising from the table. “A willing pawn but a pawn none the less. He’s a military man and I can understand wanting to protect his home…”

“He went too far.”

Heart nodded. “We’re really free? Sophie and Helblindi are safe?” Panic widened his eyes again. “Oh my God, they were there. They watched Ross shoot me!”

Loki had suspected as much given what little he’d learned from the two. He did not, however, know how to explain Heart’s sudden resurrection to his wife and Helblindi. _Thanks Infinity_ , he thought drily.

_You’re welcome,_ Infinity replied cheerfully.

_That wasn’t…_ Loki groaned. _You can explain it then._

“Explain what?” Heart asked.

Loki hadn’t realized he’d said that aloud. “Infinity, the essence of the Stones, has its consciousness back now that its come together in me. Its learning sarcasm and right now thinks it’s hilarious.”

“That’s,” Heart brought his hands up beside his head where his fingers went from a fist to spread wide, “mind blown.” He dropped his hands. “Too soon? Too soon. Did they bring my glasses?”

Loki wasn’t entirely sure what to make of Heart’s constant change in topic. The man _had_ öust come back from the dead after all and Loki expected people dealt with such an occurrence in different ways. He had. Three times. He was not keen on repeating the experience ever again.

“I wouldn’t know,” Loki said, replying to Heart’s question.

“Oh well,” Heart shrugged, “I needed new glasses anyway.”

“Would you like to see your wife?”

“Yes. God she’s going to freak.”

“So will Ross.”

Heart grinned and Loki noticed for the first time that his teeth were sharp. “Now _that_ will be fun.”

* * *

Returning to the infirmary, Loki spotted the youngers and his brother visiting with Helblindi. Upon seeing them, younger Loki raised an eyebrow. “So that’s what Infinity was cackling about.”

_We were not cackling_ , Infinity said.

_Yeah, you kind of were,_ Loki replied.

Younger Loki’s words drew the attention of the others in the room. At first, there was confusion followed by shock as Doctor Heart stepped out from behind Loki. “We should probably find you some new clothes,” Loki commented.

The doctor glanced down at his blood stained clothes. “It’s not that bad, all things considered.”

“You haven’t seen your back.”

Heart worked his shoulders then made a face. “Oh, that’s what that is.”

Helblindi’s eyes were wide as saucers and his mouth hung open in shock. “You’re alive?” he asked in wonder. “How?”

“Infinity thinks its cute,” Loki said drily.

_Would you rather he remain deceased?_

_No, but you can’t just bring people back to life. If word gets out_ everyone _will want their loved ones returned. I can’t… I can’t have that kind of responsibility._

Infinity’s “grin” vanished. _Apologies beloved, we should not have jested so. To take and give life on a whim is an ability we have not considered from another’s view._

“Discussion for another time,” younger Loki said.

“Yes,” Loki agreed.

“You know,” Thor said, “Tony’s right. You two doing that is rather disturbing.”

“Why are there two of you?” Doctor Heart asked.

“Short version,” Loki quickly explained where the youngers had come from. Afterwards he realized, “Where’s Doctor Maynard?”

“They took her for a different examination,” replied Thor.

Doctor Heart’s expression became worried. “She was injured?”

“Nothing like that,” younger Thor said. “It was to check on the baby.”

Doctor Heart jerked as though he had been struck by lightning. “Did you say baby?”

Younger Thor winced, “You didn’t know?”

The doctor shook his head slowly, “No, she… after the last time…” His complexion paled to the point Loki wondered if the man was about to pass out. “I think I need to sit.”

Loki helped Heart to a nearby chair. They watched as several emotions played out over his face. “I’m going to be a dad,” Heart said in awe.

“Congratulations,” Loki said, glad to hear something good in all of this bad. The others echoed his sentiment. He turned to them, “Peter said Tony would be back soon then we would speak with Ross.”

“Interrogate,” Tony’s voice echoed down the corridor. “We’re going to interrogate Ross.” He rounded the corner, skidded to a halt and stared bug eyed at Heart. After gaping for a moment, Tony rubbed his forehead as though fighting off a headache. “I don’t even know why this shit surprises me anymore.”

“You were able to replicate the signal?” Thor asked.

Tony grinned, placing his hands on his hips. “Remember Thor, _I’m_ a genius.”

“You’re something,” Loki said.

“Science is still trying to determine what,” added younger Loki.

“Okay, seriously, the universe doesn’t need two of you in it.”

“Morgan would beg to differ,” said Loki. “What was it you said? She wants to go traipsing through the multiverse for more of me.”

“When will we be returning to the facility?” Býleistr asked, bringing the conversation back to the seriousness of the situation.

“As soon as they’ve finished transferring off the last of the prisoners,” Tony replied. “Have any of the docs talked to you about Helblindi yet?”

“Nothing beyond their initial examination.”

“The thing to take care of first would be the cyanide capsule,” Heart said, rising from the chair. “The neurological interface isn’t controlled by the keepalive signal.”

“I’m sorry, neurological interface?”  
Heart gestured to the wires and band wrapped around Helblindi’s head. “Those wires are attached to his nervous system.”

“You know the capabilities of this device?” Býleistr asked, rising to his feet. “Did you help put this thing on him?”

“Bý,” Helblindi said, reaching for his brother.

“It’s all right kiddo, your brother has every right to be suspicious,” Heart said. “I had to help design the damn thing but I wasn’t the one who put it on him. Sophie and I didn’t know they were going to do this until afterwards.” A shadow seemed to cross the doctor’s expression. “Even if we had, there wouldn’t have been anything we could have done.”

“What about his horns?” Býleistr demanded.

Doctor Heart huffed angrily. “That was the surgeon being a sadistic bastard. There was no reason for them to do that. It was only another means of control.”

“To show who was in charge,” Loki said. He knew what that was like. The Black Order had done the same to him. Luckily, or unluckily as the case occasionally was, his body healed from all of the injuries inflicted upon him.

“Everything was done at the discretion of the World Security Council. Even after it was proven Hydra had infiltrated it, nothing changed, not really. The WSC think they control the world, as if it’s their right.”

“They had no right to do this,” Býleistr growled.

“No,” Heart shrugged, “but that wasn’t going to stop them. Do you really think an organization that was going to wipe out New York City with a nuke really cares? Plus, let’s face it, that warhead would have taken out more than just the city.”

Loki felt his blood freeze in his veins. During that point in his own failed invasion, he’d been preoccupied by other things, namely fighting his brother and being tossed around like a ragdoll by Hulk. He hadn’t realized a nuclear warhead had been sent to destroy New York. It had never occurred to him before now to ask.

“Is that really what happened?” he asked Tony. “Did SHIELD plan to destroy the city with a nuclear blast?”

“Not SHIELD,” Tony replied. “Fury tried to stop them but World Security had already released the warhead. Fury warned us and I managed to deliver it through the wormhole before it closed.”

“But…” A good portion of the guilt he felt for his actions back then suddenly lifted. It didn’t change what he had done, he would always have to live with it but what the Midgardian’s had planned on doing to their own people… It paled in comparison to what Loki had done and he had tried to limit the casualties as much as possible.

The implications of what that meant was not something Loki was looking forward to analyzing. Just what was the World Security Council capable of and how far would they go to achieve their goal?

“You know, we should probably break the news of the doctor’s resurrection gently to his wife,” Tony commented.

Loki had forgotten about thought of that. The subject became moot at Doctor Maynard’s sudden scream as she returned to the room followed by her promptly fainting dead away.

* * *

In the time it took to finish transferring the prisoners, Doctor Maynard had awoken and it had been briefly explained to her how her husband was alive again. They ended up giving the couple a little privacy as they enjoyed their reunion.

Loki sat at a table in one of the empty conference rooms, a stack of documents strewn out in front of him. Ross had, unfortunately, invoked his right to council so they would have to wait until they returned to the mainland to talk to him.

Several notebooks were spread out before Loki along with several tablets, each opened to a different webpage. Loki turned the page of the stack he was reviewing then the page of a similar stack next to it.

“Now this is a familiar sight,” Thor said, taking a seat opposite him. Thor’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Something we should have done years ago. I’m reading the Sokovia Accords.”

“Dear Norns, why?”

“To understand how legally binding they actually are.”

Thor folded his arms on the table then laid his head down. “How bad is it?”

“Well,” Loki poked at the top of Thor’s head until his brother sat back up. “Look here.” He pointed to the two stacks. “Notice anything?”

“One’s thicker than the other.”

“Exactly. This,” he tapped the smaller stack, “is the original treaty, the one Tony and the others signed. This,” he now tapped the larger stack, “is what was changed and added afterwards.”

Thor’s eyes grew wide. “That’s a lot of pages.”

“I know. Here’s the other problem.” He searched the different tablets until he found the one he needed. “From my understanding, Ross and the WSC consider the Accords to be legally binding by everyone, regardless if a country signed the agreement or not. We never adopted it for New Asgard and you and I are considered legal citizens of the US.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“The Accords on their own are not a legally binding document. They’re unconstitutional, especially this latest revision. Plus,” he tapped another tablet, “in order for them to become law in the US they have to be ratified by the Senate, approved by a two-thirds majority. President Ellis may have signed them but they’re nothing more than a glorified agreement.”

“So… What does that mean?”

“It means, that everything that happened on the Raft, especially after this revision, was completely illegal.”

“When the hell did you become a constitutional lawyer?” Tony asked, entering the room and making his way to the table.

Loki glanced at the time. “About an hour and a half ago.” With a gesture all of his work materials disappeared.

“You’re enjoying this,” Thor said.

Loki gave a half shrug. “A little bit, yeah. I’m turning Ross and the World Security Council’s arguments against them and using their own rule of law to do it.”

“Hot damn I love you,” Tony said.

“Your wife might have something to say about that.”

“Pep’ll understand, hell she’ll give you googly eyes too.”

Loki shared a look with his brother and caught Thor poorly attempting to hide a smile. It dropped quickly enough. “Where does this leave us?”

“With a political nightmare,” Tony replied.

“Has Ross or anyone else from the Raft talked?”

“Ross clamed up but the prisoners are talking. F.R.I.D.A.Y. finished decrypting the data burst and it… guys, it’s bad.”

Loki felt his stomach sink. “In what way?”

Tony paled slightly. “The WSC had them actively looking for ways to reach the other Realms. They were planning a preemptive strike.”

“They planned on waging war across the Nine?” Thor asked incredulously.

“No, more like wiping out anything they perceived as a threat.”

“Didn’t we just fight a battle to keep that very thing from happening?”

Loki stood, _they_ couldn’t speak to Ross but Loki thought there might be a way around that.

“I’m not sure I like that gleam in your eye,” Tony said warily.

“Ross invoked his right to council which means we can’t speak to him without his lawyer present. That applies to us as members of the Avengers. We might be able to bypass that as members of Asgard’s court but, given our association with the Avengers, it’s a little sketchy. While the Avengers aren’t a police force per se, they are a part of the US government if not a special branch of their military force. Legally, any member speaking to Ross without his attorney present would be the same as him being questioned by police. Býleistr on the other hand doesn’t have that problem.”

Tony’s eyes lit up. “Because he’s not a member of any recognized government. He is, for all intents and purposes, an ordinary citizen and him speaking to Ross won’t violate his rights.”

“Exactly.”

“You would make one scary lawyer or a prosecutor.” Tony paused, “I would pay good money to watch that.”

Loki smirked then went in search of his cousin. He was sure Býleistr would go along with his idea. He would also speak to Doctor Heart. Ross did have the right to face his accuser after all. This was going to be fun.

* * *

Loki found himself standing outside of Ross’s holding cell a short time later. Doctor Heart, washed and no longer wearing bloody clothes, stood just out of Ross’s sight but Loki did take a little pleasure when Ross’s gaze travelled between younger Loki and himself. Behind them stood Býleistr and the temperature in the corridor seemed to drop the longer Býleistr stared at the man.

“I do not have to speak to you,” Ross said, folding his arms across his chest, “and you cannot speak to me without my attorney present.”

“Then don’t talk,” Loki said. “Just listen.” He moved aside for Býleistr.

Býleistr stepped forward, his ruby eyes boring into Ross. “You kidnap my brother, mutilate him and fit him with this _thing_ that would have killed him if he did not do your bidding. Were we on Jötunheim, I would be well within my rights to dismember you.

“Your actions have placed many lives in danger. You have harmed a member of the Royal House of Jötunheim, threatened the Royal House of Asgard and could have potentially begun a war between our two Realms all due to your obvious hatred of Prince Loki. You care not for those you harm.”

“Then ends justify the means,” Ross said. “Were you in my position, with such an obvious threat to your world, you would have done the same. In regards to,” here his voice turned mocking, “ _Prince Loki_ , there is more than enough evidence of his own crimes against Earth. Asgard refuses to remove the threat he poses, they refuse to deal out justice. My people have ample right to deliver that justice.”

“I was acquitted,” Loki reminded him. “Extreme emotional disturbance, I believe it was.”

“You’re a hell of a liar. Whatever sob story you want to tell yourself and others about your so-called treatment by Thanos makes for an interesting story but that’s all it is, a story. Nothing more than a work of fiction you made up for sympathy. Your brother, your… _friends_ , you may have been able to convince them but I’m not fool enough to fall for it.”

“Loki has done a great deal of good for your world,” younger Loki said.

Ross stared at them with cold eyes. “I suppose in a way he has,” the man admitted. “Without Loki, we would never have learned of the threats beyond our atmosphere. It’s why our research is so important, why we must strive to eliminate any and all threats against us.

“I have no sympathy for whatever Loki went through after he allied himself with Thanos. I’ve seen the recordings, I’ve heard the speech, where we are little more than children begging for supplication.

“Whatever Loki thinks he suffered, it’s meaningless. The evidence fabricated to prove otherwise is nothing more than his pathetic attempt to make himself look the victim.” His eyes bored into Loki. “You don’t deserve your freedom, your power or your life. After everything you’ve done—”

“What about everything you’ve done?” Doctor Heart demanded, stepping forward. “Or the numerous crimes you’ve committed?”

Shock quickly flitted across Ross’s expression. “You’re dead,” Ross said in surprise. He looked as though he had seen a ghost before quickly composing himself. His gaze darkened. “You’re dead, I made sure of it. There is no way you should be here. You’re a traitor and I executed you for it.”

“You’re one to talk. As for how I’m alive,” Heart sent Ross a smug smile. “A higher power decided to overrule you.”

Ross squared his shoulders, his eyes blazed but his expression fell into a cool mask of indifference. “Everything I did was with the full support of World Security.”

“Who gave them that authority?”

“World Security is _the_ authority. All nations must follow the laws of World Security, especially in regards to the Enhanced.”

“You’re…” Doctor Heart lowered his arms. “World Security sees itself as a world government? My god, the… the utter audacity, the… _arrogance_ of them. We don’t have a global government Ross. I don’t give a shit what the WSC thinks.”

“Someone needs to take charge in maintaining the security of Earth. We have enemies we don’t even know about, enemies whose capabilities we are woefully inadequate to defend against. If we need to conscript the Enhanced to protect our world, then so be it.”

“The World Security Council was formed to give SHIELD oversight,” Loki said, recalling the information he’d read during his research of the Sokovia Accords. “Not to create law that would circumvent the laws of sovereign nations.”

“Sometimes people need to be told what’s good for them.”

“Now _that’s_ arrogance,” Loki said.

_A moment, if you will beloved,_ Infinity said.

Loki exchanged a look with younger Loki who only shrugged. Býleistr and Doctor Heart watched them in confusion. “What?” Heart asked.

Loki mentally shrugged, _um okay._

For the first time since their initial union, Loki’s world went white. When awareness returned to him, he found himself standing inside Ross’s holding cell. Ross sat on the bunk, his pupils blown wide. Loki glanced around and caught sight of his companions shocked expressions. “What just happened?”

“Infinity it…” younger Loki had paled somewhat. “It…”

Loki had a sinking feeling. He snapped his fingers in front of Ross’s face and received no response. _What did you do?_ he demanded of Infinity.

_We gave Thaddeus Ross the proof he so coveted._

“Proof of what?” Loki cried.

“Your pain,” Infinity said through younger Loki. “Everything Thanos and his children did to you, Ross will now experience.”

Loki spun towards Infinity, his breath seeming to shutter in his chest when he saw the entity’s expression. What frightened him more was that it was his own face staring back at him. He pointed to Ross. “Fix him, now.”

“No,” Infinity replied. “We will not. Ross deserves far worse for what he has done.”

“Except it’s not up to you to decide his punishment.”

“I think it’s fitting,” Býleistr said. “Could you take the device he’s placed on Helblindi and put it on him instead?”

“We could,” Infinity said.

“No,” Loki cried. He took a step back when Infinity turned its swirling gaze upon him. His heart beat rapidly in his chest and he found himself for the first time genuinely frightened of Infinity. Its hardened expression softened and turned to one of confusion. “You… you fear us? You both do.”

Loki felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He didn’t want to fear Infinity but he couldn’t help it right now. He had a sense of shame that was not his own and Infinity retreated from younger Loki. Younger Loki was just as shaken by events as he was. Loki glanced back at Ross who continued to sit staring blankly at the far wall. How long he would remain that way, Loki didn’t know. He felt sick with the knowledge of what Ross was experiencing, not because he cared for Ross but because now the man would know _everything_ Loki had suffered.

He quickly fled the room and his mind reeled as he wondered exactly how they were going to explain Ross’s current condition. He may hate Ross but, honestly, Loki wouldn’t wish what Thanos and the Black Order had done to him on his worst enemy. Loki didn’t even make it to the end of the corridor before Fury appeared to block his path. “What the hell did you just do?” Fury demanded.

“I…” Loki pressed his lips together and fought to control his rapidly beating heart. He pushed past Fury only to have the man grab his arm.

“What. The hell. Did you do?”

Behind Fury, SHIELD medics pushed past them and made for Ross’s cell. Following them was Thor, Tony and younger Thor. He met his brother’s gaze, feeling his chest tighten and throat close as panic began to take over.

Thor forced himself between Loki and Fury. “Brother?”

“I… I didn’t…”

“Ross got what he deserved,” Doctor Heart said and Loki felt himself tense further. “Personally I think he deserves worse, capital punishment actually, but that would be the easy way out.”

“Agreed,” Býleistr added.

“That doesn’t explain _what_ was done,” Fury said.

Loki’s gaze settled on a spot further down the corridor. “Infinity is making Ross experience everything I did while a prisoner of Thanos.” His stomach twisted when he heard several sharp intakes of breath and he thought he might be sick.

Younger Thor breezed past them and made for his brother. Loki didn’t need to look to know younger Loki was experiencing the same turmoil he was.

“Why would it do that?” demanded Fury.

“Because Ross refused to believe Loki was a victim,” Tony said. “As far as he was concerned, Loki worked with Thanos willingly, not that Loki had been tortured, brainwashed and forced to do what Thanos wanted.”

Bile rose up into his throat as Loki’s mind went back to that awful year. He was definitely going to be sick. He felt clammy as the blood drained from his face and his vision swam. Quickly, he pushed past Thor and ran for the nearest head.

Thankfully, the bathroom was empty and he burst into one of the stalls, just barely managing to bend over the toilet before he began to vomit. His stomach continued to heave until all that was left was bile.

Breathing hard, Loki slumped against one of the flimsy walls of the stall, his head creating a dull thump as he tipped it back. He slowly became aware that he was not alone. Younger Loki had seemed to follow his lead and Loki adjusted his position so that the younger could lean against him.

“Running back to that cabin is looking more and more like a good idea right now,” younger Loki remarked.

Loki hummed in agreement. “I have no idea where to go from here,” he admitted.

“I think we’ve frightened our brothers.”

Loki didn’t doubt it.

“Infinity…” younger Loki curled a little more towards him. “I don’t think it understands.”

Loki recalled its confusion then shame for frightening them so. “We are what Infinity once was,” Loki said, recalling Infinity’s explanation of itself to him. “It’s still angry about what was done to us and how it was forced to hurt us with the Mind Stone. I think…” He sighed, “I was constantly frustrated by Ross refusing to take into account what had happened to me. Even when proof was presented to him,” he still wanted to kill Nebula for her little stunt at the UN those years ago. “I think this was Infinity’s way of giving Ross irrefutable proof that I was not entirely responsible for what I had done.”

_We can only beg for your forgiveness beloved._

Loki wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that so he didn’t. Could he forgive Infinity for what it had done? Was forgiveness even necessary? He supposed he understood _why_ it had done it but… his head ached when he thought about the consequences of what had happened to Ross.

The two of them stiffened when they heard the door to the head open. “Loki?” Thor called, although he couldn’t tell which one just by the voice. More movement then younger Thor entered their view. “They’re in here,” he called back.

The door opened and shut again, this time to admit his Thor. The two of them gazed at Loki and the younger with a mixture of relief and worry. “Are you all right?” Thor asked, kneeling down beside them.

“Yes… No… I don’t know…” Loki replied. This felt so much worse than when Ross had exposed Loki’s heritage to the Jötunn delegation. He feared how this would impact their relations with Midgard.

“What are they saying?” younger Loki asked.

“Nothing right now,” younger Thor replied. “They’ve taken Ross to be examined by the healers but there doesn’t appear to be anything physically wrong with him.”

“He’s trapped inside his own mind,” Loki realized.

“It appears that way,” Thor said.

Loki put his face in his hands. “Infinity refuses to fix him and I have no idea how to reverse what it did either.”

“Then don’t worry about it,” younger Thor said.

“Believe me, I wish I could just…” he waved a hand, “not care. It’s not even _Ross_ I care about, what worries me is how this is going to affect the relationship between Midgard and Asgard. Ross is, _was_ , a high profile political figure and, like it or not, he had power. What Infinity did to him was enact a punishment without any kind of trial.”

Younger Thor’s eyes bulged with shock. “Trial? We all know Ross is guilty of a great many crimes, what would the point of a trial be? I don’t see any issue with Infinity doling out his punishment.”

“Except that, for the most part, Midgard’s judicial system doesn’t work that way. Ross is entitled to a trial so that he may defend himself and to be judged by a jury of his peers,” Loki told him.

Younger Thor crossed his arms and huffed. “I still see no point, his guilt is obvious. His actions speak for themselves, he cannot defend against them.”

Thor glanced over at Loki before turning to younger Thor. “What about Loki? My brother was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in the dungeons. There was no inquiry as to the reason behind his actions and he was not given the chance to defend himself. If things had gone differently in your reality, what is to say the same thing wouldn’t have happened to your brother? If we had just taken the time to _ask_ then things here may have played out much differently than they had.”

Loki hadn’t been entirely in his right mind when he’d stood before his father, waiting for Odin to cast judgement for his attack against Midgard. Loki wasn’t sure he would have been able to defend himself at the time but now wasn’t the time to analyze that particular problem with Asgard’s judicial system. He made a mental note to come back to it later.

He knew he couldn’t continue to hide here and running from the situation would do no good either, even if the urge to run was near overwhelming. He finally stood, wrinkling his nose at the taste in his mouth. He quickly cleaned up, rinsing his mouth out and splashing some water on his face for good measure before turning to face the others.

“I can’t fix Ross,” he said, “and I don’t know what consequences will come out of what Infinity has done.”

“Let’s worry about one thing at a time,” Thor said. “Our priority is helping Helblindi and the prisoners of the Raft. Ross’s condition doesn’t appear life threatening so, please, do not feel guilty over it.”

Loki couldn’t help doing so. It was through him that Infinity had done this. In regards to prosecuting Ross in the future, in his current state he wouldn’t be fit to stand trial. Regardless of what he was experiencing in his mind, those he had wronged would not receive justice.

Reluctantly, Loki left the bathroom. He felt a little embarrassed by his actions but better to flee as he had than to vomit in the corridor. His stomach rolled again and he feared he would have to make a mad dash back. Luckily that wasn’t the case.

Loki returned to the conference room he had been using earlier and called forth the documents he’d been looking over. If the World Security Council thought they could circumvent the laws of, not just the sovereign nations of this world but those of the Nine as a whole, well, they would soon look that their place at the top was about to come crashing down.

* * *

They ended up returning not to the Avengers facility after finally leaving the Raft but to SHIELD Trauma Zentrum. SHIELD’s medics began to review the medical files of those imprisoned on board, looking for ways to reverse the damage, physically at least, caused by the experimentation.

Loki had wondered about the location at first but after learning the trauma center was in Switzerland, he understood the decision and he was glad of it. Thor contacted Asgard once they arrived and Lady Eir had volunteered her services, especially in regards to young Helblindi.

Loki found Býleistr pacing outside of one of the operating theaters. “Býleistr,” Loki asked, “is something wrong?” He glanced at the doors. “Did something happen to Helblindi?”

Býleistr stopped his pacing. “Your Lady Eir has imparted the healers with enough knowledge of my people’s physiology to remove the poison from the base of Helblindi’s skull. They’re performing the procedure now.”

“That’s great news.”

Býleistr nodded although the tension in his body didn’t lessen. It appeared as though Býleistr was fighting to keep from wringing his hands in worry. He glanced at the door before continuing his circuit around the hallway. “I’ll be happy when this is all over.”

“Lady Eir will not let any harm come to Helblindi. Your brother is in good hands.”

“He’s my little brother Loki, I should have protected him.”

“I know, and it kills you that he’s suffered the way he has.” Býleistr stopped pacing again and turned his ruby gaze on Loki. There was so much pain reflecting in his eyes. “He’s alive and the healers will find a way to free him from the device.”

“I only wish he never had to suffer this to begin with,” Býleistr said, his whole body seeming to sag as he leaned against the wall. Softly he said, “I thought I lost him again.”

“If I knew how to heal him, I would,” Loki said, “but I don’t trust that I won’t make it worse and Infinity…” he trailed off. After what the entity had done to Ross he wasn’t keen on letting it use his body again any time soon.

“The healers said Ross will live.” Býleistr’s expression twisted into one of rage. “I would like nothing more than to slowly freeze him to death. To turn every limb to ice one by one then break them off, leaving his head for last until…” he made a ripping gesture with his hands.

Loki blinked at him. “Okay, wow that escalated quickly.”

Býleistr dropped his hands. “I will not feel better until Helblindi is healed and we are back on Jötunheim.”

Loki wouldn’t feel better until the whole sorry affair was ended. The problem was, he knew given everything that _had_ happened, Asgard’s role in this would not be over anytime soon. Honestly, he doubted Býleistr and Helblindi’s roles would be either. He felt it might be better not to voice his opinion on the matter at the moment.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry this happened. Ross and the WSC only went after Helblindi because of me,” Loki took a seat in one of the chairs lining the hallway, “and if I’d had _any_ suspicion something like this would happen, we never would have suggested having our summit here.”

“Their actions are not your responsibility,” Býleistr replied, moving to sit on the floor.

Before he could though, Loki sent out a small burst of his seiðr, shrinking Býleistr so that he could fit in his surroundings better. “I figured you’d rather sit in the chair than on the floor,” he said to Býleistr’s look of surprise.

Býleistr nodded in appreciation then sat beside Loki. “I meant what I said. Ross and this _World Security_ , their actions are not your responsibility. It is the Midgardian’s who are to blame.”

“Not all of them,” Loki said pointedly. “You can’t blame an entire Realm for the actions of a few.”

Býleistr leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and his head in his hands. “As easy as it would be to do that, I know I can’t. It wouldn’t be fair to either Realm. I don’t want this to stop any chance of building relations between Jötunheim and Midgard,” he glanced at Loki out of the corner of his eyes, “or between Asgard and Jötunheim.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about Asgard-Jötunheim relations. Thor won’t give up on peace between our Realms so easily and, given the _amount_ of work I’ve put into this venture, neither will I. Besides, Morgan is still excited to have cousins now so… I guess you’re stuck with us.”

Býleistr dropped his hands, “But we’re not—”

The doors to the operating room opened before he could finish his thought and the two of them stood to meet Lady Eir and the surgeon as they exited. “The surgery was a success and they’re taking Helblindi to recovery,” the surgeon said to Býleistr. “You will be able to visit him shortly. He may not be awake for a while and he will be quite groggy even when does wake.”

Býleistr’s whole body sagged with relief. “Thank you.”

“What about the device?” Loki asked.

“We have gone over the information obtained from the Raft,” Lady Eir replied, “however I would feel more comfortable examining Prince Helblindi with a Soul Forge before we proceed any further. We do not want to risk accidently damaging his nervous system or worse.”

“If you’ll come with me,” the surgeon said, “I can show you where they’re taking your brother.”

Býleistr thanked Lady Eir once more before following the surgeon. Loki removed his charm, returning Býleistr to his natural size. Lady Eir’s voice drew his attention once the others were out of earshot.

“When was the last time you slept my prince?”

Loki scrubbed a hand down his face. “I have absolutely no idea. Before we left for the Raft, I think.” He still had so much work to do that he didn’t expect to see a bed for a long while yet.

“You need to rest.”

“I will once I’ve finished my brief.”

Lady Eir cocked an eyebrow at him. Her unimpressed expression was one he and Thor had been on the receiving end of far too many times. “I am not above informing your mother,” the healer said, crossing her arms.

“Lady Eir—”

“Or the Lady Pepper.”

“I still have—”

“Or Thor, your father, Anthony, little Morgan and the cat.”

Loki threw his hands up. “All right, all right, I’ll get some sleep.” His brow furrowed when the end of her sentence registered, “The cat?”

There went the eyebrow again. “I do not believe I stuttered.”

Loki laughed softly. “Napoleonic power monger,” he muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” He knew he needed to retreat quickly before Lady Eir followed through with her threat. The thought of facing only one member of his family when their ire was piqued was frightening enough, the thought having _all_ of them hounding in such a state was downright terrifying. “I will come back tomorrow to see how Helblindi is doing.”

He bid Lady Eir goodnight then fled her presence as quickly as possible. He had no doubt she would do exactly as she said if he didn’t take himself to bed but, as tired as he was, he knew he would not be able to sleep. There was simply too much on his mind. He returned to the helicarrier and was a little perturbed to find Thor sound asleep on the top bunk of their shared stateroom. With his brother so close, he knew he wouldn’t be able to work the way he wanted.

With little other choice he doffed his armor, leaving him in the loose under tunic and breeches. The mattress of the lower bunk was not the most comfortable he’d ever sat upon but it would do. He called forth his paperwork along with a few witch lights to help him see by. Luckily, being on the bunk below Thor, the dim lights wouldn’t bother his brother. Loki worked for several hours, unaware that he’d lost his battle with sleep until the following morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki’s reaction to Infinity’s actions towards Ross really surprised me. Like he said, he doesn't care about Ross or how this will affect him, he just doesn't want Infinity's actions to have negative consequences for Asgard.
> 
> I kind of feel like Ross should have had more of a reaction to Ivan's resurrection but at the same time he would have forced himself to remain composed in front of his enemies.


	12. Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki scrutinizes the Accords, Helblindi begins to heal and some shenanigans ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The listing from the Sokovia Accords I took from the Marvel Wiki site. The last item about the Avengers, I pieced together from a screenshot of the document the Avengers were meant to sign. For the purposes of this story, that paragraph didn’t exist on the document at the original time of the signing. Again thanks to Charboone for the video talking about the legality of the Accords, it was a big help.
> 
> ADreamer67 is the inspiration for the “mother dragon” comment.

**_Twelve_ **

Thor smiled fondly down at where Loki was fast asleep among his work. Papers and notebooks were precariously close to the edge of the bunk and Loki’s witch lights floated lazily through the air, giving light to the project their master was in no way working on. As carefully as he could, Thor removed the documents from around his brother and piled them up on a nearby table.

Thor hadn’t heard his brother come into the room during the night and Thor was loathe to wake him. Loki needed rest and Thor knew his brother had been pushing himself far too hard and blaming himself for things that were out of his control. Thor sighed softly as he removed the blanket from his bunk to cover Loki with. Why couldn’t his brother have pulled down his own blankets before trying to work?

Thor decided Loki could use the extra sleep and so he left his brother to his rest. Loki would probably be angered that Thor hadn’t woken him but sometimes his brother forgot to take care of himself.

Leaving the room, Thor made his way to the hospital to see how Helblindi and the rest of the Raft’s prisoners were fairing. He would also check on Ross. While he cared nothing for the former Secretary, he understood Loki’s reasoning for worrying about the man’s condition. Ross would be his secondary concern, his family was his first.

After inquiring which room was Helblindi’s, Thor made his way to his cousin. He found Helblindi still sleeping but Býleistr was awake and keeping vigil by his brother’s side. Thor knocked gently on the doorframe.

Býleistr bid him to enter. He looked as though he had barely slept the night before. He held up a steaming mug to Thor in greeting. “Morning. This drink is wonderful and something I’m going to request in trade.”

Thor smiled, “Coffee, I swear by it now. Loki hates it though.”

Býleistr looked aghast. “How can he not like this marvelous brew?”

“Too bitter for him. Loki has too much of a sweet tooth and he’s a picky eater. If you think hospital coffee is good, just wait until you order from a coffee shop.”

“There are places that sell this exclusively?”

“Well,” Thor shrugged, “they sell other things too but there are a multitude of flavored coffees out there.”

Býleistr’s expression looked as though he had died and gone to Valhalla at the thought. “Midgard is a treasure...”

Thor smiled and entered the room fully. He was surprised to find his parents there. “What are you doing here?” he asked by way of greeting.

“We came to see how our nephews fair,” Frigga replied. She stood to give him a hug. “Where is your brother?”

“Still sleeping, last I saw.”

“Good,” Odin said, “Norns know that boy overworks himself too often.”

“A trait he no doubt inherited from you,” Frigga said.

Thor shook his head and turned back to Býleistr. “How is he?” he asked, gesturing to Helblindi.

Býleistr sobered too. “They’ve removed the poison,” he replied, “but the device itself will be more complicated.”

“Once he’s recovered enough he will be transported to Asgard for further treatment,” Frigga told him.

Thor and Lady Eir had already offered as much. Helblindi was in good hands. While Midgard’s healers were proficient in their craft, they did not have enough knowledge of Jötunn physiology to risk not harming Helblindi further. It was a miracle he’d come out of the first surgery alive.

Thor turned to where his parents were sitting. “How are things?” He hadn’t thought to ask about the aftermath of their convening the nobility. He hadn’t heard of any riots and he took that for a good sign.

Odin rubbed his forehead above his good eye. “The fallout is nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. There are some noble houses calling for Loki to be sent to Jötunheim as its rightful ruler.”

Býleistr’s head whipped around at that. “Loki publicly renounced our throne.”

“They know that but that doesn’t stop their talk. Like Vörnir, they think to use Loki as a means of controlling Jötunheim.”

“My people would never accept that.”

Thor felt the beginning of a headache coming on. It was too early in the morning for this. He would need to speak with the nobility and the council soon. Thor felt like he was being pulled in multiple directions at once. He reached over and tapped his father’s shoulder. “Tag, you’re it.”

“You know it doesn’t work that way,” Odin said though not unkindly.

Thor dropped into an empty seat. “It should. This whole mess…” He shook his head, not wanting to begin that argument. “Has anyone informed Bestla of what’s happened?” He hadn’t thought of it until now. There was a lot he was forgetting of late.

“Anthony contacted Pepper who informed Bestla,” Frigga replied. “Pepper is flying Bestla here. They should arrive within the next couple of hours.”

Relieved to know he didn’t need to be the one to speak to Bestla, he remained in the room for some time afterwards. Helblindi finally awoke although he was rather groggy. He didn’t complain about any pain but he did readjust his head several times due to the band. It looked as uncomfortable as he complained it to be.

Lady Eir checked on Helblindi several times and finally managed to coax Býleistr into resting. “Coax” was the polite way of saying it, browbeat was more like it. The brothers Jötunn learned firsthand just how formidable the healer was.

It was only another hour later that Pepper arrived with Morgan and Bestla in tow. Trailing behind Morgan was a little black ball of fur. Thor was surprised the feline had been allowed inside the hospital.

Bestla swept into the room and over to Helblindi’s bedside so Thor decided to give them some privacy. He and his parents along with Morgan and Pepper left the room, closing the door behind them.

“Did you get the bad man T’or?” Morgan asked before anyone else could speak. “Bindi’s safe now?”

“Yes, Helblindi is safe now,” Thor replied, “and we caught the bad guy.”

“Good,” Morgan nodded seriously. “Is he in time out forever?”

“Not yet,” the circumstances of Ross’s condition and the situation concerning the WSC was not something she needed to know about. “They will be soon though.”

“Where’s Ki?” Jack meowed questioningly too.

Thor shared a knowing look with the others. He checked the time and knew Loki had to be awake by now. Also, knowing his brother, he had gone straight to work. Had Loki even bothered to eat today? Most likely not. He held out his hand to Morgan. “Let’s go find him.”

* * *

Loki had confiscated a conference room and spread out his materials on the table, not worrying about the “mess” it made. He thought of it as controlled chaos, thank you very much. He’d also used his seiðr to secure the room allowing only younger Loki to enter. Younger Loki was helping him by interviewing those rescued who were able to talk. There were far too many “inmates” who had been irreparably damaged by the experimentation.

Loki sat back and rubbed at his eyes. He had woken when he heard his brother leave their shared stateroom and cursed himself for falling asleep in the first place. He’d known that if he had left right after Thor his brother would have complained about Loki not taking care of himself. He picked up the notepad he’d been writing on and looked down at the list he’d created. He felt sick to his stomach at what he had found so far:

_1) Any enhanced individual who agree to sign must register with the United Nations and provide biometric data such as fingerprints and DNA samples._

_a) Those with secret identities must reveal their legal names and true identities to the United Nations_

_b) Those with innate powers must submit to a power analysis, which will categorize their threat level and determine potential health risks._

_c) Those with innate powers must also wear tracking bracelets at all times._

_2) Any enhanced individuals who sign are prohibited from taking action in any country other than their own unless they are first given clearance by either that country’s government or by a United Nations subcommittee._

_3) Any enhanced individuals who do not sign will not be allowed to take part in any police, military, or espionage activities, or to otherwise participate in any national or international conflict, even in their own country._

_a) As a corollary, they will not be allowed to participate in any active missions undertaken by private or governmental law enforcement/military/intelligence organization (such as SHIELD and the Avengers.)_

_4) Any enhanced individuals who use their powers to break the law (including those who take part in extralegal vigilante activities), or are otherwise deemed to be a threat to the safety of the general public, may be detained indefinitely without trial._

_a) If an enhanced individual violates the Accords, or obstructs the actions of those enforcing the Accords, they may likewise be arrested and detained indefinitely without trial._

There was much more and those few he’d written down were all in violation of the United States Constitution, some in more ways than one. The right to free speech, the right to assemble, the right to bear arms, the right to _habeas corpus._ The idea that people could be imprisoned indefinitely without trial, for not even committing a crime…

That was only comparing the “laws” within the Accords to the laws of _one_ country, the Norns only knew how they violated the laws of the rest of Midgard’s nations.

Loki dropped the notepad and ran a hand down his face. The last thing he’d seen and written down… he wondered if Tony or anyone beyond the WSC, and perhaps the United Nations, knew it was there.

_The Avengers will no longer be a private organization and will operate under the supervision of the United Nations. The Avengers and all who participate therein, past and current, shall no longer operate freely or unregulated, but instead operate under the rules, ordinances and governances of the aforementioned United Nations panel, acting only when and if the panel deems it appropriate and/or necessary._

By that statement alone, what had once been a special unit within a special branch of the United States military had been conscripted to fight at the discretion of, for all intents and purposes, a forging body. Loki knew the last part had to be a recent addition because he _knew_ neither Tony nor any of the others would have agreed to that.

He looked back up when younger Loki appeared in the room. The other man dropped down into the seat opposite Loki and placed his own notepad on the table along with a recorder. His grave expression made Loki’s stomach sink. “Did anyone speak to you?”

Younger Loki nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. “They all seemed to have the same story. Once they were taken to the Raft, they were subjected to a multitude of tests and experimentation. Some of it…” the younger man appeared ill. “It reminded me of what we went through on Sanctuary.”

Loki felt his own stomach roll at the thought. He didn’t want to but he had to ask, “In what way?”

“The augmentations, the experiments,” younger Loki took a deep breath, “they forced the inmates to use their powers on each other. Loki, some of the prisoners were abducted from their own homes. I took the liberty of cross referencing their names with missing persons. Some of them were presumed dead. I even found one or two who had open murder investigations on them.”

“Were there any casualties during the abductions?”

“One was too many but, yes, there were people killed during the abductions.”

“I don’t understand how the UN or any country would have agreed to any of this.”

“I want to take a copy of these,” younger Loki gestured to the Accords, “back to our reality. We need to be sure this never happens there.”

“So long as Tony doesn’t create a killer robot, you might be fine.”

“I don’t think we need to wait for that. There has been a lot of talk after everything that happened in our reality.”

“Things in your reality are already different from here but if you can prevent the WSC from gaining so much power, the better.” He gestured to the items the younger had put down. “Those the interviews?”

“Yes. Their testimony will be very powerful when you present it.”

“I don’t think I’ll be the one to present it.”

“No?”

“I think the people will be more inclined to believe us if Thor is the one to speak to the different leaders. He’ll have more of an impact as Asgard’s king as well.”

“That and you have public speaking.”

Loki couldn’t help but chuckle. “Everyone thinks we love being the center of attention, don’t they?”

“And enjoy hearing ourselves talk.”

“Doesn’t change that we’re actually good at it.”

“There’s that and we became _extremely_ good at hiding our true feelings.”

Loki wasn’t quite sure how much that applied to him anymore. Sometimes it felt as though he wore his feelings on his sleeve. He leaned back in his chair again, “All we wanted was to try making peace with Jötunheim. The rest of this…”

“Would have been kept hidden had you not done what you did. Think of just how much power World Security would have amassed had this not happened.”

“I don’t like that it was at Helblindi’s expense.”

“They aren’t at all like the Jötunn we’ve met or anything like what we were taught.”

“No, they aren’t. Some of the Jötnar are, I’m sure but at the same time, there are Æsir who are like what we are described to them.”

“How different do you think things would have been if our parents had been able to shield us from the hatred we were taught?”

“We might not have hated ourselves so much or… well, I’m sure a lot of things would have been different.”

They lapsed into silence and continued working. Loki listened to the recorded testimony, transcribing everything for future use. Some of the things he heard though, made him sick.

The two lost themselves in their work, not even registering the passage of time until a rather forceful knock came at the door. “We’re busy,” Loki called.

“Ki.”  
It appeared their work was done for the time being. Sending everything to his dimensional pocket, they headed for the door. Younger Loki reached it first and pulled it open.

“Ki!” Morgan said excitedly, wrapping her arms around younger Loki’s waist. “Hi.”

“Hello,” younger Loki replied.

She grinned up at him. “You get a hug and…” her gaze fell on Loki, “Ki needs one too.” She took a step only to nearly trip as Jack raced past her. Jack rose up on his hind paws, meowing until Loki picked him up. “That’s not fair Jack!”

With Jack cradled in one arm, Loki bent so that he could give Morgan a hug also. “What are you doing here?”

“Mommy brought us.”

“Pepper flew out here with her and Bestla,” Thor said from where he was leaning against the doorframe. “Bestla has been with Helblindi and Býleistr for a while.” He frowned, “You were a pain to find. I had to finally ask Tony to track you down.”

“I’ve been busy,” Loki said.

“I know. Have either of you eaten today?”

“Stop being a mother hen.”

“Mother dragon,” younger Loki said.

“Ah, yes, that is a better description.”

“Dragon?” Morgan asked, her eyes lighting up. “Ki, Ki,” she tugged on both their hands, “turn T’or into a dragon!”

“Now wait a minute,” Thor protested. “Why am I always the one being turned into animals?”

Grinning, Loki replied, “Because it’s fun.”

Thor huffed, “For you, maybe.”

“And it makes our niece happy.”

“What about a puppy,” Morgan suggested, “or a hamster… a trash panda? Oh, oh, a snake!”

“I do like snakes,” Thor said.

“Hey, snakes are my thing,” Loki said bending over to stick a forked tongue out at her with a hiss.

Morgan grabbed his chin and pulled on his jaw until he opened his mouth. She frowned when she saw that he’d returned his tongue to normal. It didn’t last long before she exclaimed, “A piggy!”

* * *

After leaving the conference room and, at Thor’s insistence, found something to eat. They visited Helblindi throughout the day to see how he was doing. The others trickled in and out of the room and Loki took the time to speak with Thor, Tony and the other Avengers privately about what he had found within the Accords. Needless to say, _none_ of them were happy with what they had become.

Tony and Rogers ended up arguing afterwards with Rogers stating that he’d been right all along and Tony defending his original decision to sign the Accords. That the Accords had been changed _after_ the initial signing was not Tony’s fault. Loki valiantly repressed the urge to punch Rogers for his self-righteousness. An argument could be made for both sides but it appeared as though the Captain wanted nothing to do with any sort of oversight, stating his right to “choose”.

“I stand by my argument,” Rogers stated.

“That the Avengers have zero oversight and take _no_ responsibility for our actions. That was what brought these,” Tony waved the Accords before slamming the book down on a nearby table, “were intended for. They weren’t perfect and they’ve been completely bastardized now but it doesn’t change that without _proper_ oversight we’re nothing more than vigilantes with big guns and godly powers. Even SHIELD and the military have oversight, what makes us so special not to be held responsible for our actions? I mean, my god, we destroyed a _country._ ”

Loki’s gaze shot over to his brother and saw Thor looking away somewhat sheepishly. The Avengers had destroyed a country? Tony had neglected to mention _that_ little tidbit when he’d finally told Loki about Ultron.

“We don’t need the Accords.”

“I agree we don’t need them but we do need something like them, a means of accountability.”

“How the Avengers are used isn’t for a committee to decide.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying we need regulations—”

“You want us to be controlled by an outside entity.”

“Oh my god, you are not _listening!_ I didn’t say that. The Avengers are, for all intents and purposes, a military force. You were bound by the Articles of War and the Articles of Government when you fought in World War Two. You telling me that you had free reign to do whatever you wanted as Captain America back then and that you weren’t subject to military law?”

“Of course not but there’s a big difference between the 1940’s and today. It shouldn’t be up to some committee to tell us when and where to act. _I_ won’t be controlled like that.”

Tony covered his face with a hand before running that hand into his hair and pulling. “Talking to you is impossible when you _refuse_ to listen.”

“I am—”

“I think what Tony’s trying to say,” Loki interrupted, “is that the Avengers remain an independent organization but held accountable to a higher body, like every other military and law enforcement organization on Midgard.”

_“Thank you,”_ Tony cried.

“But you want to keep to the Accords,” Rogers said.

“No, I don’t. Yes, there are a few things in the _original_ version that make sense but the rest of it, all of this new shit, not happening. We need a set of rules, _laws_ , which hold us accountable for our actions.” Tony’s tone calmed somewhat. “Steve, we can do a lot of damage and, in all honestly, it wouldn’t take much for the Avengers to destroy the world. Look at what World Security wants to do with the Enhanced. Do you really think I would allow any of us to be used like that? Say we didn’t discover this mess, I wouldn’t put it past the WSC to turn the Enhanced on the world after they’d finished with the rest of the Nine.

“What I’m suggesting, what I’m saying we _need_ are rules, something like the Articles you were bound by back in the day or…” Tony waved his hands, “or make us have to adhere to the UCMJ. Something like that. Yes, we’ve taken on some heavy hitters and I’m not fool enough to think we never will again and I know there will be casualties but… What right do we have to go around destroying cities, _countries_ , just to take down the bad guy? We’re still private citizens but just because we’re the Avengers doesn’t make us above the law.”

“I never said we were,” Rogers argued.

“From my understanding of what you want,” Loki said, “the Avengers would be considered vigilantes. Vigilantism is illegal, correct?”

“Look, I don’t want to keep fighting about this,” Tony said. “It is something we’re going to have to come back to at some point. Right now though, we need to take care of the prisoners from the Raft and World Security needs to be held accountable for what it’s done.”

On that, at least, they all agreed. They parted ways with Loki and his family returning to check on Helblindi. They found the boy awake and thoroughly engrossed in whatever video game Peter had introduced him to. The boys were bent over the system in Helblindi’s hands as Peter helped Helblindi to understand the controls.

Bestla continued to fuss over her grandsons, to include Loki and Thor, both sets of them. Loki now understood where Thor received his mother hen (dragon heh) tendencies from. Bestla was near smothering in her grandmotherly affection. It was honestly not something either of them were used to. They’d never had a grandmother before.

“Mother,” Odin said after Bestla had asked both Loki’s if they’d had enough to eat that day, “leave the boys be.”

Bestla, hands on her hips, frowned. “They’re too skinny.”

“Loki has always been skinny.”

“He’s actually put on weight,” younger Thor commented. “You should have seen him a few months ago.” That earned him a swift kick in the shin from his brother. “What? It’s the truth.”

“I get enough of it from you,” younger Loki replied. “I don’t need anyone else fussing over me.”

“You do tend to overwork yourself to the point where you forget to eat and sleep,” Thor added.

“Do you _want_ to get stabbed?” Loki asked.

“You’re going to stab me regardless.”

“Oh, I know,” younger Loki suddenly exclaimed, “a rabbit with dragon wings!”

“Do it!” Morgan yelled.

“Don’t do it!” Thor cried.

Helblindi looked up from his game. “What’s a rabbit?”

Younger Thor shot to his feet. Thor followed suit when he saw the twin grins Loki and his counterpart had. Neither of them made it from the room before they found their forms changed. Younger Thor ended up the fluffy golden rabbit he’d been before while Thor’s form had dragon-like wings protruding from his back. Morgan was ecstatic with this development and Jack leapt from Loki’s lap to chase after the two bunny Thors.

Loki caught sight of his parent’s unimpressed expressions. “What? They deserved it.”

“That’s so cool,” Peter said in awe.

“They’re so fluffy!” Morgan exclaimed.

Helblindi put the game aside and crawled to the end of his bed, his ruby eyes wide in wonder. “Bý.”

“No,” Býleistr said instantly, “you cannot take them home with you.”

Helblindi frowned and sat back. He scratched at the bandage around his head. Lady Eir had, with the help of the surgeons, attempted to clean up the damage to his horns. They must have been healing better than they had been previously if his constant scratching was any indication.

Býleistr gently pulled Helblindi’s hand away from the bandages. “Stop picking at those.”

“They itch,” Helblindi complained.

“That’s normal when wounds are healing,” Bestla said.

“Bindi has booboos?” Morgan asked, looking back from where she pet younger Thor. “Is that why he has the Band-Aid’s on his head and the other things?”

“Yes,” Pepper replied, “but Miss Eir is going to do everything she can to help him get better.”

“The bad guy gave Bindi his booboos.”

“Yes.”

Morgan scowled, “Can I kick his butt?”

“Later,” said Tony.

Morgan’s scowl deepened, “You never let me help beat the bad guys.”

“You’re too young for that.”

“But Peter gets to go.”

“Peter is also older than you.”

Morgan twisted to set pleading eyes on Loki. “Ki.”

“Sorry sweetheart, your mommy would kick _my_ butt if I said yes and…” he put a hand beside his mouth as though imparting a great secret, “your mommy scares me.”

“And mommy will team up with grandma,” said Tony, “and it will just be a bad day for everyone. Great grandma seems like she’d side with them too.”

The silence that fell over the room as they all stared at Tony was not awkward but… it was as though something profound had just been said and they were all trying to process it. The stunned expressions on his parent’s faces were ones Loki recognized. He knew he and Thor had both looked the same way the first time Tony had called them Morgan’s uncles.

“What?” Tony asked as the silence wore on. “As far as she’s concerned, they’re,” he gestured to Thor and Loki, “her uncles, Býleistr and Helblindi are now her cousins and you two do kind of dote on her as though she’s your grandkid. If you don’t want—”

Frigga was the first to recover, “No, no, it was just such a surprise.”

“But an honor all the same,” added Odin.

“I do like the idea of grandchildren,” Frigga said, giving her son’s, both sets of them, a pointed look, “and I have always wanted a daughter.”

“One who isn’t homicidal at least,” Loki quipped.

“What’s that?” Morgan asked.

“We’ll tell you when you’re older,” Tony said.

Morgan rolled her eyes in a very dramatic fashion. “I’m gonna be five daddy.”

“I know you are,” her father replied. Then, “Holy crap, you start school this year.”

“Yes she does,” Pepper said.

Helblindi left the bed, careful of the medical equipment he was hooked up to, and sat near Morgan so that he could pet rabbit-dragon Thor. Peter followed suit and Loki couldn’t resist taking several pictures of Thor and younger Thor being cooed over by the children.

Thor’s dragon wings flapped as he attempted to flee the constant petting. Jack raced back and forth between the two rabbits “attacking” them. The kitten became a little disgruntled when all attention was focused on the Thors. Loki called the kitten back over to him and Jack leapt back into his lap, purring loudly as Loki scratched under his chin.

“Attention junkie,” Loki said to Jack fondly.

“Ki look,” Morgan suddenly called, “T’or’s flying!”

Indeed, Thor had managed to flap his wings hard enough to become airborne. Loki pressed his lips together to keep from laughing because while Thor had lifted from the ground, his body hung beneath the wings, paws dangling loosely and floppy ears partially covering his face.

“Oh now _that’s_ blackmail material,” Tony said, whipping out his phone to take several pictures.

Unable to hold out any longer, Loki and younger Loki finally laughed.

* * *

It was the next day that Lady Eir felt Helblindi well enough to transport to Asgard. Loki and Thor, along with the youngers and Starks all waited in the healing halls while Helblindi was examined under a soul forge. Bestla and Býleistr as well as Odin and Frigga were with Helblindi. Bestla had wanted her son and daughter-in-law present for her own comfort. It had been many millennia since she had been to Asgard and she felt more comfortable having them present.

Loki was surprised to see Doctors Heart and Maynard approach. It threw Loki to see Doctor Heart with several dominant Jötnar features mixed in with his human heritage. The man didn’t seem to care what anyone thought of his appearance. Although considering his multitude of tattoos and multi-colored hair that wasn’t all too surprising.

“Ki,” Morgan tugged his hand, “look, he’s kinda blue too.”

“He is,” Loki replied. To the doctors, he asked, “What are you two doing here? I thought you were going to remain behind due to the investigation.”

“Doc Eir is going to check the baby since the kiddo is a mix of human, Jötunn and Light Elf.”

“Is that why you’re blue?” Morgan asked.

“Morgan,” Pepper chastised.

“No, it’s okay,” Doctor Heart said. “One of my great, great grandparents was Jötunn,” he said to Morgan. “I take a lot after them.”

“Do you have hornays?”

“Hornays?”

“Horns,” Tony clarified. “She has a thing for horns.”

“She’s not the only one,” Thor said drily.

Pepper hummed in agreement. “I can’t _imagine_ where she gets it from.”

Tony rolled his eyes.

“Oh, well I don’t have horns,” answered Doctor Heart to Morgan’s disappointment. His eyes then wandered around the hallway. “This place is amazing.”

“Yeah, we all had the same reaction the first time we came here,” Tony said.

“I don’t doubt it. I’d heard stories but…” Heart shrugged, “It doesn’t do it justice.” His brow furrowed, “I’d heard Asgard was destroyed then somehow restored. Is that true?”

“Yes,” Thor replied. “Asgard was destroyed in Ragnarök but Infinity restored it along with her people who were lost as a gift to Loki.”

Loki felt himself blush and quickly covered it up. “It likes me.”

“No kidding, _beloved_ ,” Tony teased. Loki and younger Loki both smacked Tony who cried out. “Alright, jeeze. At least you didn’t stab me.”

“Keep it up and they just might,” Pepper said.

“Don’t tease my Ki’s daddy,” Morgan said, scowling at her father.

Tony threw up his hands. “Thor, help me out here.”

Thor held up his own hands. “I get stabbed enough on my own, don’t drag me into this.”

“Stabbing, that’s not a bad idea,” younger Loki remarked, placing a hand to his chin in thought.

“ _Now_ look what you’ve done,” younger Thor groaned.

Doctor Maynard laughed. “Are they always like this?” she asked Pepper.

“All of the time,” she replied. “It’s why Frigga and I are raising,” she paused for thought, “five… six children? Maybe seven, it’ll all depend on how Býleistr integrates into the family. No, wait, closer to ten if you count those two,” she added, gesturing to younger Loki and Thor. “Of them all, only three are actually children.”

“Ouch,” Heart laughed, “shots fired.”

“Thor,” Tony gasped dramatically, clinging onto the Thunderer. “We’ve been hit!”

Loki chuckled but stopped when he saw the doors to the healing halls open. He stood, pulling Jack from his lap to cradle him against his chest. “Well?” he asked as Helblindi and the rest made their way to them.

“Lady Eir believes she will be able to remove the device with no harm to Helblindi,” Bestla replied. “He will be whole and hale soon enough.”

“I hate to ask,” Doctor Heart said, “but what about his horns? Will those grow back or…”

Loki realized the wrapping that had been around Helblindi’s head was gone, revealing the healing horns underneath. Morgan gasped, “What happened to your hornays?”

Helblindi hunched his shoulders, the subject still apparently very painful for him. “They were taken,” he mumbled.

Býleistr and Bestla both reached out to comfort the boy. “All will be well,” Bestla said.

“They will grow,” Býleistr answered, “but there will always be…” he trailed off.

_A disfigurement_ , Loki finished.

“Was it the bad guy?” asked Morgan.

Helblindi nodded.

“Ki,” she cried, grasping his hand again. “Bindi needs his hornays back.”

Loki winced internally. “I don’t know if I can heal them,” Loki said. He was sure Infinity could but there was a part of him that still feared the entity. Infinity had apologized, numerous times, for frightening him the way it had but… It was going to take Loki a little time before he felt comfortable with it again.

“Oh… But could you make him some like ours? He can have hornays like you, me and Jack.”

“I could,” Loki nodded, “if it’s something he wanted.”

Morgan held her hands up by her head, index fingers curled to mimic horns. “We’ll all have hornays.”

Helblindi continued to appear uncomfortable so Loki suggested, “Why don’t we let him think about it for a bit.”

“Okay,” she lowered her hands. To Helblindi she said, “You gotta come see my room.”

“You have a room here?” the boy asked, seemingly confused but thankful by the sudden change in topic.

Morgan nodded with a grin. “Yep. It’s the best. I have a big bed with lots of pillows, and a big fluffy rug and lots of books and lots of daggers and—”

“Morgan,” Loki sighed. He knew how she was going to respond but said anyway, “That’s my room.”

“Your room is my room.”

“No, your room is across from mine.”

“No it isn’t.”

“Face it Lokes,” Tony chuckled, “you’re stuck with a roommate for a long time.”

“When does Lady Eir expect to perform the procedure?” asked Pepper.

“Within the next couple of days,” Býleistr replied. “She wants to be sure she doesn’t miss anything.”

“That’s good,” younger Thor said.

“I just want this gone,” Helblindi said, picking at the wiring along one arm. “I want this all to be over.”

The boy had been through much in such a short amount of time. While his body would soon be healed, Loki knew from experience that his mind would take longer. Mental health was something the Asgardians were still new to and he doubted Jötunheim understood it either. It might not be a bad idea to suggest a therapist for the boy. He would wait to broach the subject though, let Helblindi’s body heal before overwhelming him with more.

“Wanna go see my horsey?” Morgan asked now. “Ki and T’or gave her to me for my birthday and Ki’s teaching me to ride. Her names Epona.”

“Um… okay,” Helblindi replied.

“Yay!” she reached to take his hand and pulled Loki along as well. Over her shoulder she called back, “Come on Ki.”

With a smile and slight shake of his head, younger Loki followed.

* * *

That night, after everyone had parted ways Loki lay in bed staring at his ceiling. His mind replayed the events of the last few days (weeks?) over and over. So much had happened and he was still trying to process it all. He thought back to when Ross had first exposed his heritage to the Jötnar delegation and was surprised to find that, while he still hated having it bared to all, he wasn’t as… frightened of it as he had been.

In his slowly coming to know Bestla, Býleistr and Helblindi he was also gradually beginning to accept that his blood didn’t make him inherently monstrous. He had portrayed that he wasn’t as bothered by his heritage as he had been but in truth it still turned his stomach and made his heart race. It was something about himself he hated, the lie he couldn’t erase no matter how much he wished he could.

From his right, Jack stretched, his front paw draping over Loki’s neck. The kitten settled quickly, rubbing his head against Loki’s cheek as he returned to sleep. Loki wished he had been able to fall asleep in the first place but his mind would not quiet enough to do so.

He wondered how late it was. Well past the time any sane person would be sleeping, that was for certain. Although, he mused, his sanity had come into question several times over the past decade so he probably wasn’t the best one to judge. He was surprised Morgan hadn’t slipped in from her room yet. He would suspect she might have sought out younger Loki had the youngers not returned to their own reality. They did promise to come back when the time came to give testimony.

Thoughts of Morgan had barely left his mind when he heard his bedroom door creek open. Expecting it to be Morgan, he was surprised when his brother stepped through the doorway instead. “Loki,” Thor whispered.

“I’m awake,” he replied softly.

His brother closed the door quietly behind him then padded softly over to Loki’s bed. He felt the mattress dip as Thor lay beside him. Jack lifted his head up at the slight movement and blinked slowly before yawning wide. After another slow blink he curled back up and started to purr in his sleep.

The soft vibrations against his neck was comforting. Loki turned his head towards Thor which ended up giving Jack more of his neck to snuggle against. “You should be sleeping,” Loki said.

“I could say the same of you,” Thor replied just as softly.

Thor fell silent and they watched one another for some time. There had to have been a reason for his brother coming to him so late. “You came here for a reason.”

Thor gave a half shrug. “I can’t just visit my brother?”

“You can but usually not in the middle of the night. Is something bothering you?” Thor glanced away and Loki had his answer. He felt his heart skip a beat. What now? “What is it?”

“I…”

“Thor?”

“How are you doing?”

Loki felt his eyebrows draw together in confusion. “What?”

Thor sighed. “How are you doing?” he repeated. “I’m worried about you Loki. A lot has happened and I’m afraid you haven’t had the chance to process it all. You… you do tend to burry your feelings and pretend everything is okay.”

Loki looked back to the ceiling. That was the question, wasn’t it? How _was_ he doing? “I don’t know,” he replied after a time. “I’m not… I don’t feel like running now but…” He bit his lip and glanced over at his brother. “They’re not like we thought, are they?”

Thor’s own confusion colored his expression. “Who?”

“The Jötnar. Býleistr, Helblindi and Bestla, they aren’t monsters.”

Thor moved closer, shifting so that Loki’s head was laying against his shoulder. “I wish you wouldn’t call yourself that.”

“I didn’t—”

“It’s what you were thinking. It’s what you’ve thought about yourself for too long.”

He did, it was true but he was _trying_ wasn’t he? Wasn’t that enough? Loki inhaled deeply and slowly let his breath out through slightly parted lips. His heart fluttered wildly in his chest. “I’m afraid,” the words left his lips before he had time to process them.

“Afraid?” Thor asked, “Of what?”

“Of accepting it.” Where was this coming from? Why was he saying this? “If I do finally accept how I was born and that it will change who I am,” he tipped his head up and he was once again a child craving the protection of his big brother. He cursed the tears he could feel prickling at the corners of his eyes. “I’m afraid that once I accept it that I’ll lose myself, that I won’t exist.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know that, Bestla at least, expects me to _be_ Jötunn. I’ve already told her it isn’t who I am but she isn’t the only one. She… everyone, they want me to embrace it and I _can’t_. I lived in the shadows for so long and now it’s as though _everyone_ is finally seeing me but they’re not seeing _me._ They’re seeing Jötunheim’s abandoned prince and I don’t want to be defined by that.

“It isn’t just my heritage there’s also Infinity and my place as its vessel. I can do so much now and I had never really thought about the _extent_ of what I could do until after it had done what it did to Ross. I could… Thor, I could alter everything. I could remake the universe if I wanted. I don’t but…” He swallowed past the lump that seemed to have formed in his throat. “Because of Infinity, I have the power over life and death itself and it’s too much. Do I have an obligation to bring back to life those whose lives were wrongfully cut short? Is it my responsibility to end conflict? Heal the sick? I feel like I’m losing myself to what everyone expects me to be.”

Thor let out a breath of his own and Loki felt his brother press a kiss to his temple. Loki fought valiantly to keep his emotions in check but it was a fight he was slowly losing. Jack moved to drape himself over Loki’s chest, little tongue licking at Loki’s chin and his purring increased. A sound escaped Loki, a cross between a laugh and a sob.

“You’re right, being Jötunn isn’t who you are,” Thor began softly, “and I doubt it ever will be but even so that isn’t for me to say. If you want to embrace it someday that’s fine and if you don’t, that’s fine too. As for being Infinity’s vessel… I think it’s up to you to decide what to do. I also think you would drive yourself mad trying to right every wrong, perceived or not, in the universe. Other people’s happiness is not your responsibility.”

“When it comes to other people’s opinions, forget them. Forget Bestla, the nobility and all the rest. They don’t matter. The only opinion you need worry about is your own. Even me, our parents, our family and friends, their opinion doesn’t matter. All you need to concern yourself with is liking and loving yourself.”

His voice sounded childlike to his own ears when he asked, “What if I don’t like me?”

Thor sighed, “Then, if you want, I will help you to love yourself. There is so much good in you brother. You are such a caring and loving person and we will do all we can to remind you of everything wonderful about you.”

“We?”

“Our family,” Thor said, rolling his eyes with a fond smile.

“You’re biased.”

“So are you and not in a good way.” Thor pressed another kiss to Loki’s head. “I know it isn’t simple and you can’t just change how you feel with a snap of your fingers. I wish it was that easy but… I understand how it is to hate myself, not in the same way you feel about yourself but…” Thor shifted again until he lay with his head beside Loki. “Promise me you’ll try to love yourself.”

“Thor—”

“I’m only asking you to try and if for some reason you can’t then let us give you the love you need.” Thor tentatively reached up to gently brush his fingers over Jack’s head. “Brother, you hate yourself because you believe having been born Jötunn and… everything you did because of Thanos, you’re bad, inherently evil even. If that were true do you really think Morgan and Jack would gravitate towards you the way they do? Those two practically worship the ground you walk on. If you were truly evil they wouldn’t—”

Thor was interrupted by Loki’s bedroom door creaking open again. Loki listened to the light tread as tiny bare feet trekked across the marble floor. No words were spoken as Loki felt the bed shift again, this time on his other side, before a tiny body curled up against him. Thor sat up long enough to reach down for a light blanket with which to cover them all with. “T’or?” Morgan mumbled.

“It’s alright sweetie, go back to sleep,” Thor said.

With Morgan snuggled up against Loki’s right side, Jack laying curled on his chest and Thor to his left Loki couldn’t help but feel at peace. The emotions which had been swirling inside on him finally calmed and his eyes slid closed. He felt Thor’s beard scratch slightly at the skin of his shoulder as his brother settled down. Within minutes Loki was, finally, fast asleep.


	13. Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations are had, Loki overworks himself (again) but everyone is slowly starting to heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lateness of this chapter but once again life has decided to interfere. Not only that, but I had a bit of a writer’s block when it came to figuring out this chapter. We are at the end of this particular story and while I have left some loose ends, I did that on purpose. I can now, hopefully, begin to plot out and work on the Night Manager style one I’d mentioned way back in… I don’t even remember what story. I can’t say when I’ll get to it or whether or not it will be the actual next one in the series. I do have a couple of little projects and there are a few things in this story that I will tie up as shorts in Little Pieces simply because I couldn’t find ways to work them into this narrative.
> 
> Did this story end up being _way_ longer than I'd intended? Why yes, yes it did and while I came close to having another 100K fic, I'm still 14 and some change k short. 😅

**_Thirteen_ **

Loki awoke before Thor or Morgan and carefully extracted himself from the bed, lest he wake them while Jack remained curled up on Loki’s pillow. He made his way to his bathroom to wash and dress then snuck out of his own apartments before his guests could wake up and keep him from doing what he needed to. He sequestered himself in the library so that he could continue to build the case against the case against the World Security Council.

It was long, grueling work and at the first sign someone was looking for him, Loki made the area he was occupying appear empty. He knew his family thought he was working too hard but it wasn’t as though he could simply pass it off to someone else. All that had happened had, in one way or another, been caused by him. Everyone could tell him otherwise but it wouldn’t help make him _believe_ it. He also had to somehow salvage the Asgard-Jötunheim treaty.

Loki sat back and regarded the work he had done. A thought came to mind, one he had been trying to avoid focusing on but… would anyone trust him? To Asgard he was now Jötunheim’s cast-off and to Jötunheim he was a means of Asgard’s control over them. Býleistr may try to say differently but Loki knew how he would be seen, how he _was_ seen. Perhaps it would be in everyone’s best interest if he just left, renounced all that he was and disappear into obscurity.

_One step forward, eight steps back,_ he thought with a sigh.

_It doesn’t have to be that way,_ Infinity said.

_I don’t want it to be,_ he replied, _but I have no idea how to change it._

_You are hiding again._

_Yes, but not for the reason you are thinking._ He cast his eyes over the materials spread out before him. _If I don’t keep hidden, this will never get done._

_Why is the responsibility of completing it solely yours?_

_Because, for better or worse, I’m Asgard’s chancellor._

“And yet even your father had more than just Haldor advising him,” his mother said.

Loki turned sharply at her voice and silently cursed himself for losing focus. It was then he realized what she had said. “How did you know what we were talking about?”

His mother took a seat beside him. “Infinity is worried for you.”

That didn’t quite answer his question. As far as he knew, Infinity only communicated to other people through him and he certainly hadn’t been around anyone since that morning. He also hadn’t let Infinity surface since Ross. Not that he could truly keep the entity from taking control should it decide to, but he had enough trust in Infinity not to take control without his permission.

“It spoke to you?”

“In a sense,” she replied. “It was more of an impression than anything else but I still understood.” She reached over and took his hand. “You are placing far too much responsibility upon your shoulders.”

“Except it is my responsibility.”

“Not entirely,” she squeezed his hand. “You need to stop punishing yourself.”

“I’m not—”

“Loki,” she interrupted gently, “you are and have been for quite some time. You ruled Asgard as her king for several years, unbeknownst to her people granted, but you ruled all the same. You feel responsible for them and are punishing yourself for any perceived failures on your part.

“Remember sweetheart, _Thor_ is king and while it is wonderful the way you two are sharing the burden, you need to remember it is not all on you. It takes more than one person to run a kingdom.”

Loki sighed, pulling his hand back and beginning to pick at his nails. “I can’t help but feel responsible for all of this,” he admitted. “If my heritage wasn’t such an issue—”

“How is it an issue?”

“How is it not? Maybe if we had informed Býleistr in the beginning or exposed it to the populace much sooner.”

“You make it sound as though your heritage is a dirty secret.”

To him, in many ways, it still was. It was something else he had been trying to work on. “This is why I didn’t want anyone to know.”

“That isn’t the only reason,” her expression turned sad. “You still feel ashamed of how you were born”

He could deny it but it would be pointless. “I’m trying.”

“I know you are and I am happy about that however it is also another reason you have placed such heavy burdens upon yourself. You are still trying to prove your worth.” She took his hands again. “You do not need to do that Loki. We would not abandon you or cast you out if you stopped working so hard. We worry for you when you get like this.”

“I have to get back to work,” Loki said, not wanting to continue this conversation. For all of the years he had wanted to be seen, now that he finally was it was honestly disconcerting. How had he become so easy to read in only the past few years?”

“No, you don’t,” his mother stated firmly.

“Mother—”

“This is non-negotiable Loki.”

“I’m the chancellor.”

“And I’m your mother, lest you forget. Mother out ranks chancellor.”

Loki knew arguing with her was futile and yet… “Delaying my work will not change anything. I still need to complete the treaty and the report on all we found on the Raft. Please just let me do this,” he pled, “it helps to keep my mind occupied and I really need that right now.”

Frigga let out a sigh of her own. “Being lost in your own mind is not safe for you at the moment, is it?”

“No,” he admitted. “I wish I wasn’t like this. I wish these things didn’t bother me the way they do and it’s so frustrating because every time I think I’m making progress something happens and I spiral backwards.

“Also, you’re wrong about my failure to the people.” He pressed his lips together and turned his gaze away from her. “I did fail them when they needed us, _me,_ the most. When Hela appeared and began to ravage Asgard… She threw us from the Bifröst,” he was still amazed he had survived his second fall through the Void, “and we ended up on Sakaar… Thor wanted to come back but I… I wanted to run, abandon Asgard and never look back. I was going to leave them all to Hela, Thor too.” Loki looked down at his hands, picking at the skin around his nails in agitation, the area beginning to turn red from the abuse. “Some king I was.”

“You did come back though, that’s what matters.”

“I almost didn’t,” he admitted. “I knew I couldn’t stay on Sakaar, En Dwi…” he shuddered involuntary, “Well, Sakaar’s Grandmaster doesn’t quite understand personal boundaries.”

Frigga’s eyes widened then narrowed in confusion. “Loki were you—”

“No, not by him,” he assured. “Not that he didn’t try but I managed to find other ways into his good graces. I do have some standards mother.”

She didn’t look pleased and knowing her, she would understand the implication of what wasn’t said. She and Odin still didn’t know the full extent of what Thanos and his ilk had done to him and he didn’t plan on telling them either. The only ones who did know were Thor, Tony, Pepper and his therapist. Nebula knew too but she knew he would cut her tongue out if she ever told anyone _all_ of the gory details.

“I’ve been through a lot. There have been times when I’ve wondered if it would be better if I didn’t exist and yes, I did try to kill myself once.” It felt strangely liberating to say that aloud. His suicide attempt was something he’d discussed with his therapist but hadn’t generally brought up with his family. They never wanted to talk about it. He thought they feared voicing it aloud would drive him to try again and although she tried to hide it he saw the same fear in his mother’s eyes.

“I have no intention of trying again,” he assured her. “I want to live but that doesn’t stop me from wondering if things would be easier for Thor, for all of you, if I wasn’t around. Look at what has just happened, everything Helblindi has been through, if I hadn’t been around then maybe he wouldn’t be suffering now.”

“We would be worse off without you,” she said. She sat up straighter, her expression turning to stone. “What happened to Helblindi was not your fault. From the sound of things, it was only a matter of time before this World Security Council found a way to strike out at the Nine. Helblindi and many more would not be safe, unlike now.”

Loki had had to stop reading the information on project _November Romeo Yankee._ The things they had planned to do was beyond barbaric and honestly something Loki didn’t think the average Midgardian citizen would have agreed with. Even Midgard’s world leaders would have been hard pressed to justify the project.

“You aren’t the first person to tell me it wasn’t my fault, it’s just I can’t help feeling that it is.” He looked down at his hands again, “What’s worse is I know I have the ability to heal him but I’m afraid to do so. I hold so much power now and I…” he took a slow breath then told her of the same fears he had spoken to Thor about the night before. “What do I do mother?”

“Nothing,” she replied, much to his surprise. “Your brother is correct, it is not your responsibility to ensure other people’s happiness.”

“I fear once it becomes known what it means to be the vessel for the Infinity Stones, it will be. I can do so much now.”

Her hardened expression softened. “Just because you can do something, Loki, doesn’t mean you should. Only you can understand the full extent of what it is to _be_ Infinity’s vessel and you know the lengths some will go to obtain that kind of power. You appreciate it is a power not to be taken lightly and you will not abuse it.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I trust you.”

Loki felt his cheeks warm at her sincerity and he looked back to the controlled chaos that was his work, spread out over the entirety of the table. He could feel a headache building behind his eyes when he thought about just how much he still needed to complete. Luckily he’d nearly finished compiling his notes from the Raft and Accords. Thor would need a speech if he was to go before the United Nations.

“At least give yourself a break. It is well past midday and I know for a fact you have neglected to take a meal.”

“I’m not hungry.”

His mother did not look impressed. “I hope you realize how much trouble you will be in if you spend the entire day in here.”

Now it was Loki’s turn to appear unimpressed. “Trouble? Are you planning on grounding me?”

Frigga let out a snort. “Would that your father and I still could. Morgan has been asking about you.”

Loki winced and covered his face with his hands. He had to take several moments to force down his sudden urge to cry. He could feel Infinity’s concern and he knew his mother worried at his behavior as well. When he felt he could keep himself from bursting into tears, he lowered his hands. He wasn’t even sad, it was that his frustration at the situation was reaching its breaking point. The added thought of upsetting Morgan did not help ease his stress any. Matter of fact, it only helped to make it worse.

“I’m sorry dearheart,” his mother said. She stood and moved closer so that she could wrap her arms around him. “I did not mean to upset you.”

“I’m not…” He took a calming breath. “I’m not upset, I’m just frustrated. Since the beginning, at every turn _something_ has gone wrong. Be it the constant arguing between the Council and the Jötunn delegation, the mess that came from Haldor and Ross revealing the nature of my birth or the absolute horror show that was the Raft.” Loki rubbed at his temples in a vain attempt to relieve his building headache. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to salvage _any_ of it.”

“Your problem sweetheart, is you believe it is solely on you to ‘fix’ this.” She cupped his face in her hands and tipped his head up so his gaze met hers. “It’s not.” She continued to gaze at him and the pain he saw reflecting in her blue eyes made his chest tighten. What was worse was knowing she was pained because of him. “There is more to this than your perceived notion of responsibility. You still feel you need to atone for your attack on Midgard.”

Loki let out his own snort. “It’s more than just Midgard. I tried to destroy Jötunheim and… I did end up destroying Asgard. I don’t know how many died because of that. I know it was the only way to defeat Hela but there was no way for us to rescue everyone.”

She pressed a kiss to his forehead before leaning down to rest hers against his own. “You can’t save everyone Loki. You can try but it is an impossible feat.”

“I know that and…” he pulled back and with a wave of his hand sent the chaos that was his work to his dimensional pocket. “I need to make a phone call.”

“Phone call?”

He nodded. “It will help.”

She appeared somewhat skeptical. “What are you planning?”

Yeah, he kind of deserved that. “To call my therapist,” he replied.

“Oh and this will help you?”

“Yes, it will. It’s helped both Thor and I ever since we arrived on Midgard. You know Thor suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and I do to, to some extent. I haven’t been officially diagnosed with it but I know after everything that happened with Thanos, there’s no way I _don’t_ have it. I’ve learned to manage it,” more the only reason he hadn’t been officially diagnosed was due to his ability to manage it and that he’d learned to control his symptoms before ever starting therapy. “For the most part,” he continued, “and my bouts of depression are generally few and far between. I would have become lost in it if Loki hadn’t found me in that cabin. I think the only reason I haven’t fallen into it completely yet is due to everything surrounding Helblindi’s abduction and rescue.” He gestured to the now empty table. “It’s one reason I was working so hard. If I keep myself occupied, I can keep from spiraling.”

“Thor has mentioned how you and Anthony would make sure he saw his own therapist. He also mentioned that once you began to build New Asgard he had quit seeing his own and that the two of you ‘persuaded’ him to either return or find another.”

“‘Persuaded’ is one way of putting it,” Loki said. “You also know Tony hates being called Anthony.”

“It is his name.”

Loki felt a smile tugging at his lips and he realized exactly what his mother had done. “Thor and I are both guilty of pretending everything is fine when in fact we’re ready to break.”

Her fingers began to card through his hair and he hummed at the feeling. An emotion ran through him that he knew was not his own. He mentally raised an eyebrow at Infinity. _Conspiring against me now, are you?_

_Never beloved,_ Infinity replied innocently.

Loki suspected Infinity wanted to say more but the feelings he was getting from the entity were conflicted. He sensed nervousness among the many he was picking up from Infinity. Was it afraid he was angry that it had brought his mother to pull him away from his work?

_I’m not angry,_ he told it.

Tentative relief washed over the entity. _We do not wish to upset or frighten you again._

Its action against Ross was still a sensitive subject and one that would really need to be discussed at a later time. He would also need to figure out some way of convincing Infinity to fix what it had done. Ross would have to face Midgard’s justice and in his current condition that couldn’t happen.

_Communicating with my mother to convince me to stop working is a little annoying but I’m not upset._

He caught his mother watching him then remembered his eyes glowed faintly when he conversed with Infinity. She chuckled softly, “Have you two made up?”

He managed to keep from rolling his eyes. “That’s complicated,” and not something he wished to discuss at the moment. “You mentioned food.”

Luckily his mother let the subject drop. “I did,” she said, stepping back, “and I’ve even taken the liberty of having something prepared for you. It’s waiting for you in my sitting room.”

“Your sitting room?” he asked as he followed her from the library.

“I knew if I sent it to your apartments, you wouldn’t eat. This way I can be sure you actually take a meal.”

Shaking his head, Loki chuckled softly, “I’m reevaluating my previous assessment. Thor didn’t inherit his mother hen tendencies from Bestla, he inherited them from you.”

Frigga laughed, “I am not to blame for that one. Thor may have gained _some_ of it from me but the main portion of it, he most certainly inherited from your grandmother. You father too,” her eyes twinkled with mirth, “you know what your father did to Thor when he saw the amount of weight your brother had lost.”

Loki recalled Thor mentioning something along the lines of their father cutting Thor’s food as though he was a child. Loki did _not_ need the same treatment. Of course, he remembered Bestla fretting over his own weight and he feared receiving the same treatment from her.

“Once all of this is over,” she continued, breaking into his thoughts, “you need to take some time for yourself, get away from the rigors of court.”

“I can’t abandon Thor to the council. They’ll eat him alive.”

“Your brother can handle them just fine.”

Loki knew that but he still worried there might come a time where Thor’s PTSD would trigger during a council meeting. While those who had lived and continued to live on Midgard were slowly beginning to understand that mental health played a large part in a person’s life, those who had been lost, to include a majority of the council, liked to pretend any sort of mental issue didn’t exist. Thor’s panic attack the day of his coronation had even brought a few of them to question Thor’s competency to rule.

“Well, if worse comes to worse, father can rule again and if that doesn’t work, the council can face Pepper.”

At that, Frigga laughed.

* * *

After finally eating, Loki had wanted to return to his work but refrained from doing so. His whole being railed against the idea of leaving his projects unfinished but he knew his mother was right, it was not solely his responsibility to resolve the problems between Asgard, Jötunheim and Midgard along with everything that happened on the Raft. It would be an effort of many people over many months, years even, to fully resolve those issues.

Instead Loki found himself making his way to the healing halls. His mother had informed him Lady Eir planned on performing the surgery to remove the device encasing Helblindi within the next couple of days. Loki wanted to speak to the boy beforehand, preferably alone, so he could apologize. While Ross could have gone after Helblindi by virtue of the boy _being_ Jötunn, Loki felt the decision had come simply from Helblindi’s association with him and the fact they were, genetically at least, brothers. It was a guilt that would remain with him for some time.

When Loki entered Helblindi’s room, he was surprised to find Helblindi, not alone, but without his elder brother and grandmother around. He was not surprised, however, to find his niece and cat keeping the boy company. He smiled fondly when he realized the both of them sported the helms he had made for them. Luckily Helblindi didn’t appear hurt by that and in fact seemed fascinated by the helms. He watched them for a few moments before knocking gently on the door.

“Ki!” Morgan cried happily and scrambled down from the bed. She moved to stand before him and placed her hands on her hips. “You were gone when we woke up and I couldn’t find you. Jack couldn’t either,” the kitten gave an angry meow at that. “Where were you Ki? You’re not supposed to run away anymore.”

“I didn’t run away,” Loki replied sheepishly. Dear Norns, he was being scolded by a four year old. “I was trying to get everything together so we could put the bad guys in jail for a very long time.”

“Oh,” Morgan said, dropping her hands. “I guess that’s okay.” She scrutinized him some more. “Are you still sad Ki?”

Loki picked her up, adjusting her to sit on his hip. “A little,” he admitted. He’d never been able to truly lie to her. “I just need some time. I won’t stay sad forever.”

She hugged him and he felt his heart lighten just a little more. “Good. Do you still need lots of huggies?”

“Always, and kisses too,” to emphasize the point, he placed several kisses in quick succession on her cheek.

Morgan giggled, “I’m supposed to give you kisses Ki.” Which she did once he quit his assault.

“What are you two doing in here?”

“We wanted to come see Bindi and show him the hornays you made us,” she replied. “If Miss Eir can’t make his hornays all better then he can have ones like ours.”

Loki sent Helblindi an apologetic look. The topic of his horns was obviously still a sore subject for the boy. Morgan had the best of intentions but she didn’t understand the cultural impact the loss of his horns was. To be honest, Loki didn’t either. He was just glad he didn’t come by them naturally. While he liked his helm, he did not want horns actually growing from his skull.

“Do your parents know you’re in here?”

Her answering grin told him they didn’t. Maybe she really was picking up too many of his bad habits.

“I don’t mind her being here,” Helblindi said. “She doesn’t smother me like Bý and mormor do.”

“How are you doing?”

Helblindi shrugged. “I’m safe now but… can I tell you something Loki? I don’t know if you’ll understand but I know Bý and mormor won’t and I…” he trailed off, picking at a loose thread on his blanket.

“Of course.”

Helblindi worried at his lip and it hit Loki just how young the boy was. “I dream that I’m still there and that none of this is real.” Tears glistened in his ruby eyes but they didn’t spill over. “I’m afraid I’ll go back and be trapped forever.”

Loki took a seat on the bed, placing Morgan next to him and allowing Jack to crawl onto his lap. “I’m sorry you had to go through that Helblindi,” he said. “This fear you have, it’s completely understandable.”

Helblindi’s disbelieving look told Loki what he thought of that. “It’s a weakness,” Helblindi said. “I shouldn’t feel any fear now.”

“It’s not a weakness. You have suffered a severe trauma. I know what it is like to fear everything around you is nothing more than an illusion.”

“You do?”

Loki nodded, “Yes. Fear isn’t a sign of weakness or cowardice, especially when the circumstances warrant it. After my own trauma, I was afraid for a long time. I tried to run and I ended up back here, where I felt safest.”

“You were hurt by the one who turned me into dust.”

“I was.” He felt Morgan squeeze his middle. She knew he had been hurt by the “Bad Man” and because of that, Loki had done many bad things of his own. He wouldn’t use what Thanos had done to him as an excuse for his actions but it did help to explain some of them.

“But you escaped from him. You weren’t afraid after that, right?”

“I was terrified,” Loki said. “I failed to obtain the Infinity Stone he had sent me after. I had enough of my own mind to know conquering Midgard wasn’t what I really wanted, even if it was only on a subconscious level. I knew if Thanos ever found me that the year I spent with him already would seem trivial by comparison. Even after he was killed, I still feared he would return and take everyone I cared about away and take me back to Sanctuary.”

“Sanctuary?”

“His idea of a sick joke. It was anything but.”

“The Bad Man can’t hurt you anymore, right Ki?” Morgan asked and Loki could detect a hint of fear in her own voice.

“No, he can’t,” he assured her. “He is gone forever.”

“What about the bad man who hurt Bindi? Is he gone forever too?”

That was a bit more complicated. “He can’t hurt Helblindi again but he’s not gone like the Bad Man. He will have to go to jail for the rest of his life, most likely.”

“Forever time out?”

“Exactly.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Helblindi asked. “What if somehow, Ross and the ones who did this to me are not punished for their actions? What about Ivan and Sophia? They were forced to do things they didn’t like. Will they be punished too?”

“I could tell you everything you want to hear but I honestly don’t know how things will work out. With Ross in the condition he’s in now, he can’t stand trial. He’ll remain in a psychiatric institution until he’s deemed fit to stand trial. As for Doctors Heart and Maynard, they may have to face some sort of punishment for their involvement. Justice on Midgard is complicated, especially since what happened involves several different nations. Jurisdiction is an issue as well.”

“Jurisdiction?”

“Which sovereignty claims the right to prosecute them,” Loki explained.

“Jötunheim should punish them all,” Helblindi said.

“You aren’t the only victim,” Loki reminded him, “and I doubt any government on Midgard will extradite Ross or any of the others to a foreign realm, especially without some sort of extradition treaty. Luckily, Asgard does have extradition treaties with several governments. I suppose Asgard could lay a claim since you are a Prince of Jötunheim and technically a member of the Asgardian Royal Family but I doubt it will help. The crimes were committed on Midgard and their nations will have a greater claim to Ross and the others more than Asgard or Jötunheim.”

Helblindi frowned, “Bý and Jötunheim’s court will demand the chance to punish them.”

“I’m sure and Býleistr should plead his case but you need to understand things might not go the way you want. It’s also possible there will be minimal or no punishment at all.”

Shock flashed across Helblindi’s face. “What?”

“You mean the bad people won’t go to time out?” asked Morgan.

“It’s a possibility although I think it’s also very remote. The governments are going to want to save face so I’m sure someone will receive jail time,” Loki replied. “The accused will also have the right to plead their own case and convince the jury of their innocence.”

“How could they possibly say they’re innocent?” Helblindi asked.

“That’s the tricky part. If they can justify their actions—”

“Justify this?” Helblindi demanded, gesturing to himself.

Loki sighed. “Yes and it is possible that fear will lead to an acquittal. The larger problem with Ross, beyond his current condition, is what is releasable to the public. Most of his military career is classified so all they’ll see about his character is a military hero. He’ll be seen as a good person and I suppose on some level he is.”

“But he’s a bad guy,” Morgan argued. “Why would a good guy do bad things?”

“I did bad things.”

Morgan frowned, “Yeah but… you’re not a bad guy Ki. The Bad Man made you do it.”

“Sometimes good people do bad things because they think it’s the right thing to do. Good people will do bad things to protect other people. There are a lot of ways a good person can do something bad but still be a good person at heart. Bad people can do good things too. It’s not as black and white as you might think.”

“It should be,” Helblindi mumbled.

“Then by that train of thought, I should be spending the rest of my life in Asgard’s dungeons.”

Jack hissed while Morgan held Loki tighter and Helblindi gave him a pained look. “You’re not a bad guy Ki,” Morgan repeated.

Loki hugged her, “I know. Let’s not talk about this any longer, okay? That wasn’t the reason I came by.” He returned his attention to Helblindi. “I am glad you’re doing better.”

“I’ll be happy when I get this thing taken off of me.”

Loki scrutinized the device, following the wires from the band around the boy’s head to where they disappeared into the backs of his hands and feet. The surgery Helblindi was about to undergo would be long and painful and there was no telling what kind of side effects there would be.

Loki stamped down on his sudden rush of nerves and calmly asked, “Would you mind if I tried something?”

Helblindi shrugged, “What?”

Loki stood, careful to keep Jack from tumbling to the floor. He placed Jack and Morgan into a nearby chair. “Lay back.”

Helblindi did and Loki was slightly taken aback at how trusting of him Helblindi was. “What are you going to do?” the boy asked.

Loki was unsure if he should say as he didn’t want to get the boy’s hopes up. “I want to see if there is anything I can do to help.”

“All right,” Helblindi replied then closed his eyes.

Loki held his hands out over Helblindi and closed his own eyes. _If you really want to make it up to me for what you did to Ross,_ Loki said to Infinity, _then help me heal Helblindi._ No sooner had the words left his mental lips than a new thought entered his mind. His eyes snapped open and he quickly pulled back his hands. If he messed this up everyone would be absolutely furious. Any chance there was of salvaging the Asgard-Jötunheim treaty would dissolve completely and he knew, he _knew_ , somehow this would go wrong.

“Ki?” Morgan asked.

Loki saw Helblindi giving him a strange look out of the corner of his eye. “Is something wrong?” Helblindi asked.

The urge to flee suddenly came over Loki with such force it was nearly overwhelming. He almost gave in but stamped it down. He couldn’t continue to run from things. He’d gotten so much better at _facing_ his issues but now it felt as though all of the progress he had made meant nothing.

Loki swallowed back the lump that had formed in the throat. “Nothing,” he replied, managing to somehow keep his nervousness from filtering into his voice. “You might feel a tingling sensation but it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Oh, okay,” Helblindi lay his head back and closed his eyes again.

_We know we have frightened you terribly,_ Infinity said gently, _but we will allow no harm to come to the boy. You need not know about his physiology, there is an easier way._

Loki gave a small nod and held his hands out again. He reached out with his seiðr, examining just how the device was grafted to the boy’s body. What he found turned his stomach and he could only imagine what Bestla and Býleistr thought of it. There was something eerily familiar in how the device was attached to Helblindi. This was crude but he had seen something like it before. His body flared with a phantom pain, the memories behind it ones he had forcibly buried deep within his mind never to be examined again.

The shade of the green swirling around his hands shifted, taking on a slightly brighter hue. He recognized the energy of the Time Stone, not that they were actually stones anymore but it was easier to think of the different aspects of Infinity in terms of them. Loki was in total control but he felt Infinity guiding his hand as time around Helbindi moved backwards.

Time around Loki also seemed to slow even though he knew it hadn’t. He watched as the device and all of the mutilation the boy had suffered reversed itself until it was as though it had never happened. When it was done, the magic faded and Loki lowered his hands once more, stepping back from the bed.

Morgan plowed into his side and laughed happily. “You did it Ki! You made him better. He’s got his hornays back!”

Helblindi sat up, his expression one of awe. He ran his hands along where the wires had been before tentatively touching along his head. His eyes shown with tears when his fingers felt his now restored body. Loki wasn’t prepared for the boy to leap from the bed and grab him in a tight hug.

“Thank you Loki,” Helblindi exclaimed.

Toes barely touching the ground now, Loki awkwardly patted Helblindi on the back. “I’m glad I could help.”

“This is why you’re the bestest Ki,” Morgan added, her arms wrapped around his thigh now. “You can do anything!”

Something warm settled in Loki’s chest and he could feel a blush burning his cheeks. His flush worsened when he caught movement out off to the side and saw Bestla watching from the doorway.

“Please put me down,” Loki said.

“Oh,” Helblindi let him go, his own cheeks darkening with embarrassment.

He stepped further back when Bestla swept into the room with a cry. Loki unexpectedly felt as though he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. His back straightened as he awaited whatever her reaction was going to be.

Bestla examined Helblindi to affirm for herself he was healed and no longer mutilated. Her grandson was, physically at least, exactly as he had been before he’d ever been taken to the Raft.

“Mormor,” Helblindi complained, trying and failing to wiggle out from her scrutiny.

“You’re healed,” Bestla breathed.

Her initial exclamation of shock caused others to come running. Loki quickly moved out of the way, pulling Morgan and Jack with him. Lady Eir and a few other healers entered as well, all of them swarming around Helblindi. Loki felt slightly guilty for the new examinations Lady Eir was most likely about to put the boy through.

Picking Morgan up and placing Jack on his shoulder, Loki skirted the edge of the room. He almost made it through the door before a large hand grabbed his arm. He stiffened as he was spun around to face Bestla.

“You did this,” she said.

“I—”

“How did you do this?” Lady Eir interrupted.

They were all looking at him and Loki hated the feeling of being judged because he felt as though they found him lacking. “Your excellent teachings,” he replied evenly.

The look Lady Eir sent his way was somehow both impressed and unimpressed and he couldn’t tell if she was disappointed in him or not. The thought of her disapproval and the ache that came with it surprised Loki.

“What’s wrong?” asked Morgan. “Ki did a good thing.”

Loki was acutely aware of Bestla’s hand still holding tightly to his arm. His tunic did nothing to block out the cold of her touch and he feared she was about to try harming him. Why she would do such a thing especially now that Helblindi was healed, was beyond him.

“You healed him,” Bestla said. “You knew you could heal him and you let him suffer like that for days.”

“I did no such thing!” Loki defended, almost wincing from how tightly she was now gripping his arm. “I told you before, I didn’t want to risk harming him even more.”

“So you decided to try now? You risk my grandson’s life.”

Jack hissed, fur puffing up and he swiped out at her with his claws while Morgan shouted, “no he didn’t!” Lady Eir and Helblindi both let out their own protests at her statement.

Loki however, felt all emotion drain out of him. His mask of indifference fell into place. He would not apologize for doing what he did. He was only repairing the damage he had caused. “ _I_ did not heal Helblindi,” he said, his voice completely emotionless. “It was Infinity. I decided to trust it not to make his condition worse.”

“Mormor,” Helblindi took her wrist in his hand. “Mormor, you’re going to hurt him.”

That seemed to snap her out of whatever had come over her and she let Loki go. He turned his body to better shield Morgan and Jack from her if need be. He held her ruby gaze for another moment then stepped away. “We’ll be leaving now.”

“Wait,” Bestla called and Loki stiffened further. “I apologize for my reaction.” She amazingly sounded sincere. “Thank you, for helping him.”

Loki gave one final nod before practically fleeing the healing halls, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as all of the emotions he’d suppressed came rushing back with a vengeance. That had not gone how he’d expected. He hadn’t thought to secure the door before attempting to heal Helblindi. If it hadn’t worked or if something had gone wrong…

Loki came to a stop at the sensation of fingers playing with his hair. A small furry head followed by an equally small tongue rubbed against his cheek. All at once, Loki’s roiling emotions calmed.

Morgan’s chin pressed into his shoulder. “Miss Besta was mean,” she said.

Loki sighed, “She was just frightened.”

“Why?”

“Because Helblindi is her grandson and she doesn’t want anything bad to happen to him.”

“But she’s your and T’or’s grandma too.”

“She is,” he confirmed, “but she hasn’t known us for very long. She has no reason to trust us completely.” Morgan’s fingers continued to scratch at the nape of his neck and he sensed she was not satisfied with his answer. “Let’s go find mommy and daddy.” He set out back towards the royal apartment and determined to put the entire episode behind him.

* * *

The following days saw the Starks return to Midgard, much to Morgan’s dismay. She wanted to stay in Asgard and when that wasn’t an option she asked when Loki was going to come home. Loki promised to visit soon. All things considered, Loki would rather have been on Midgard as opposed to standing in the Observatory seeing Bestla, Býleistr and Helblindi off. There was still an uncomfortable air between him and Bestla. Býleistr on the other hand, had thanked Loki profusely for healing his little brother.

His parents and brother exchanged goodbyes with the others. Býleistr had promised to return to the subject of peace between their two Realms once things on Jötunheim settled. Loki suspected Vörnir’s actions had farther reaching consequences than Býleistr liked. It was the same on Asgard with Haldor. The former chancellor still had yet to be found.

“Will you come visit Jötunheim sometime?” Helblindi asked.

Loki’s stamped down on his initial rejection of the idea and the anxiety it brought. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea.”

“But we’ll think about it,” Thor said, draping an arm around Loki’s shoulders.

Thor’s arm was grounding and it helped to alleviate his anxiety. He knew Helblindi had extended the offer innocently but Loki knew, politically, it was something he and Thor would have to eventually do, especially since Jötunheim’s leaders had come to Asgard. The very thought sent his heart racing.

“A visit to Jötunheim is a wonderful idea,” Bestla said, joining the conversation from where she had been saying her goodbyes to Odin and Frigga. “You can then see your homeland.”

“It is something we will have to work to,” Býleistr said quickly. “I have hope our negotiations can continue soon and we can come to an agreement to the satisfaction of both parties.”

“Agreed,” Thor said.

Býleistr held out a hand towards Loki, “Thank you for all you have done, both in working with my abominable priests and returning Helblindi to me safe, whole and hale.”

Loki looked at the offered hand before reaching out to take it. The contrast between his own pale skin and Býleistr’s cobalt was jarring. A part of him expected for his own skin to turn blue at the touch even though it didn’t.

A quick tug had Loki stumbling towards Býleistr. “Don’t let her get to you,” he said softly. “Mormor can be… overbearing at times. You aren’t Jötunn but it will take her some time to see that.” He pulled back, tone returning to normal. “You are my brother in blood though not my brother in heart but I hope one day, we can at least call one another family.”

Sincerity shone in Býleistr’s eyes and hope in Helbindi’s. These Jötnar were not the monsters they had been raised to believe. Upon their initial meeting, Loki had thought Býleistr to be Laufey’s spitting image. Now though, while there was some similarity Loki only saw Býleistr and not the creature which had sired them both. In Helblindi, Loki saw much of his own self and even parts of Thor, especially in the boys cheeky, though sharp toothed, grin.

“We will inform you when the time comes to speak before the United Nations,” Thor said, “and the trials are set to begin.”

“Thank you,” Býleistr replied.

They spoke only a few minutes more before both sides said their final goodbyes. Bestla, Býleistr and Helblindi vanished within the swirling light of the Bifröst. Loki, his brother and their parents returned to the palace and although things had finally calmed for the time being Loki knew there was still much work to be done. His mother was right, some time away from the rigors of court was something he desperately needed and Loki knew the perfect place to go.

* * *

The room was barren, nothing within giving any indication as to the personality of its occupant. _Not that there was much in the way of personality to begin with,_ Loki mused. Its occupant was not currently present but Loki knew the man was on the grounds. He made his way to the recreational room instead. No one paid him any attention and why would they, none of the staff or patients could see him.

Inside the rec room, Loki found who he was looking for. Thaddeus Ross sat in a chair, clothed in the standard issue white pajamas, sky blue robe and slippers of the hospitals patients. The man’s eyes stared blankly out of the window at a world he was no longer a part of.

Loki made his way over and stood before the man, allowing his magic to shift just enough so Ross could see and hear him. “I know exactly what you are seeing and experiencing,” he said. “I understand why Infinity did this to you and while I don’t approve, it is a sort of poetic justice. This doesn’t, however, give justice to the others you have hurt.” Loki reached out and pressed two fingers to Ross’s temple.

Ross’s whole body jerked as though he’d been electrocuted. The man’s eyes focused and trained on Loki. He shot from his chair. “You—”

“Sit down and shut up,” Loki commanded. “The people here can’t see me and as far as they’re concerned, you’re still a vegetable.” Ross remained standing and his gaze swept across the room. He seemed to realize no one had reacted to his outburst. “I came here to release you from what Infinity did to you.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because it is the right thing to do and it will allow you to stand trial.”

Ross was silent for a moment. “I did what I had to,” he finally said.

“I know,” Loki replied. “You were protecting your world and your people. I can understand that, Hel I commend you for it.” Ross looked at him in disbelief. “It’s the way you went about doing it,” Loki continued, “that I take issue with. So do the people of your world.”

Ross breathed deep and let the air out somewhat forcefully. He sat, “They tore you apart.”

“What?”

“Thanos and his ‘children’. They tore you apart, sometimes literally. Your brother, Stark, the rest of the Avengers, they defended you and I could not understand why. Even with Nebula’s admitted involvement in your torture I never wanted to believe it. I saw the devastation you and the Chitauri ravaged on New York and I… It was easier to believe you did everything of your own volition and not the larger threat Thanos presented. After the Snap, it was still easier to blame you than to admit we had failed.

“Aliens were supposed to be the things of science fiction, not reality. We were woefully unprepared for an invasion of that magnitude. You and the Avengers—”

“Which I apparently am now.”

Ross ignored his interruption, “—managed to reverse the damage Thanos caused but the scars are still there. The world hasn’t forgotten what happened.”

“They shouldn’t forget and it will take a very long time to heal. I’ve read the report on _November Romeo Yankee_ , Midgard is and has always been at the very center of Yggdrasil but your plan to ‘neutralize’ the rest of the Nine is just as bad, if not worse, than what Thanos did.”

“I’m a military man Loki,” Ross said. The man sounded tired, “I have spent my life in service to my country. I have done some damned distasteful things and I have ordered my subordinates to do damned distasteful things too. War makes strange bedfellows, but sometimes we have to go against our conscience to protect those we care about.”

Loki knew all too well the feeling and still had nightmares on occasion about the things he’d been forced to do. “Why did you take Helblindi?” he asked. “Why mutilate the boy and encase him in that _thing_? Where did you even gain the knowledge to create such a device?”

“You aren’t going to like my answer.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“If you’ve read the report, then you already know most of the answer. Earth is now living in a reality where the gods of old are no longer simply a myth but capable of wiping humanity from the universe. We have no way of knowing exactly what is out there or what will attack us next. The boy was simply a means to an end and I didn’t let myself acknowledge that he was just a child, I’ll bet a rather large and blue child, but a child none the less. It was easier that way, easier to find a way to either neutralize the threat his species possesses or use it to protect us.”

“I used to think the Jötnar were monsters,” Loki said. “I was raised on the old war stories of what they did to the people of Midgard when they invaded over one thousand years ago. Our teachers and the old war veterans delighted in retelling their exploits in _explicit_ detail. As children, Thor and I vowed to hunt the monsters down and wipe them all out. Then I learned I _was_ one, which actually caused me to hold stronger to the belief for a time.

“What has caused my opinion to begin changing was learning my father is half Jötunn. Laufey may have sired me but Odin is my father. My father isn’t a monster,” _not anymore at least._ “Meeting Bestla, Býleistr and Helblindi has caused me to reevaluate my opinion even further. They aren’t monsters, they’re people. They have hopes and dreams, problems and fears just like the rest of us. No one species or nationality is inherently evil. I have read and lived parts of your world’s history, humanity can be monstrous as well but those evil acts of a few don’t speak for everyone. Thanos and the Black Order don’t speak for the peoples spread out across the rest of Yddgrasil.”

“And for those on par with Thanos?”

“Then we work together to protect _all_ of the Nine. Asgard is sworn to protect the Nine Realms but, somehow, we ended up neglecting Midgard. We won’t fail in our duty again.”

“We won’t be ruled by you.”

“We don’t want to rule you.”

Ross shook his head and let out a snort. “So where does this leave us?”

“With a truce?” Loki suggested. “You will still have to face your world’s justice but I won’t force you to continue living my torture. What was done to me I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”

“A truce it is then.”

“Good, though one more thing,” he leaned over until he was eye level with Ross, “if you _ever_ go after me or mine again, I _will_ kill you.” With that, Loki let the magic around Ross drop then teleported away.

He reappeared at his cabin, the birdsong and calm of the forest around him easing the tension his conversation with Ross had elicited. With a thought, his clothing changed into a light tunic and breeches. He stepped inside and was greeted by Jack, who began to meow incessantly until Loki picked him up and began to pet him. Loki sat back against the chaise and picked his book up from the side table. With Jack in his lap, a good book at hand and nothing but the forest around him, Loki _finally_ allowed himself to relax.

* * *

The chamber was filled with representatives from, not just the sovereign nations of Midgard, but representatives of Jötunheim as well. Thor stood at the podium, his formal armor shining in the florescent lights. To his side stood Býleistr, equally adorned with the trappings of his station. Thor wished Loki were here but he understood why his brother had opted to remain behind the scenes. He spotted Tony and the rest of the Avengers at the back of the General Assembly Chamber.

Thor cast his gaze out at the multitude of faces staring back at him. By some unspoken que, the chamber went quiet. His back straightened just a little further and at that moment, he was no longer just Thor, Avenger and protector of Midgard, he was Thor, King of Asgard.

He began to speak, “Leaders of Midgard…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conversation between Loki and Ross came totally out from left field. Initially Loki was going to show up, say something sarcastic and release him from living Loki’s torture so that he can stand trial.

**Author's Note:**

> The "Low Key" t-shirt came from the comics. 
> 
> Joe's Pizzeria is the same pizza place that's mentioned in the Spiderman movies.


End file.
